Petra | The Kitchen of Half-Baked Thoughts

Sunrise at Petra

We spent this whole day at the ruins at Petra. Lots of walking and climbing in the hot, desert sun. According to my iPhone, I walked over 11 miles and climbed over 40 stories.

Enjoying the morning air at Petra

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Petra is located in Jordan. Fears of Islamic extremists have really cut into tourism, despite the safety of Jordan (and Israel, for that matter). There were extremely few people visiting Petra that day. The Bedouins that live in the area and depend on tourism have suffered greatly. They were very anxious to bargain with us and make a sale or two.

This young Bedouin girl definitely knew how to work a crowd as she sought to sell postcards.

Better than a Yelp review

Petra is an ancient oasis and fortress. It was possibly used by the Edomites, definitely by the Nabateans. It’s highly defensible and has an excellent water supply. Because of this, many dwellings were made in the caves and carved into the rocks.

One of the burial places in Petra

Inside one of the cave dwellings, looking out

For years, the Bedouins hid the existence of Petra from outsiders. Eventually it was discovered, and the Bedouins were relocated to nearby encampments so that the area could be preserved as an historic site. Israel Day 7 - 026

You may remember Petra from the third Indiana Jones movie. They used the façade of the treasury in Petra as the outside of the building where the Holy Grail was stored. Unlike the movie, the treasury doesn’t have cavernous rooms inside nor does it hold any treasure. But it’s an impressive sight.

The treasury. Didn’t see Sean Connery nor Harrison Ford

Camel inspector

Security is tight!

About half of our group made the trek all the way up to the monastery at Petra. Lots of climbing. Vendors along the way would call out encouragement: “You’re almost there; then come back and by from me.” Of course later, they would accuse you of having promised to buy from them.

Path down from the monastery

The monastery’s not that different from the buildings down below. I’m glad I went up once; don’t know that I’d take the time to do it again.

The monastery

It was an interesting place, but its lack of biblical significance left me anxious to move on to other sites that lay ahead.

Group picture in front of treasury

Sunrise in Jericho

Hoping my memory holds up, as we’re almost 2 months away from the trip at this point. On Day 6, we left Jericho and traveled to Petra, in Jordan. It was mainly a travel day, through the desert lands that once belonged to Edom.

We visited the “Mount of Temptation,” place where tradition says Jesus was tempted. There’s a monastery at the top which is said to be at the place where Satan took Jesus to see the nations of the world.

Mount of Tempation

Our guide, Nedal, sharing information with the group on the bus

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Tony Fernández with a camel. (That’s Tony on the left :-)

Carolina and a new friend

Bedouin shepherd boys. Ray Vanderlaan thinks that the shepherds that visited baby Jesus were probably young children like these.

Before leaving Jericho, we visited the archaeological site there. Probably not the site of the Jericho where “Joshua fit the battle,” but an interesting site.

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One of the ancient cities of Jericho

Many of us ignorant Texans didn’t realize that the palm trees in Israel provide dates for eating

We stopped at Mount Nebo on the way, looking out on the land as Moses once did. He must have been blessed with an extremely clear day (and divinely aided sight), for the Bible says that he saw far more than we did. Still, it’s quite a view.

Panoramic view from Nebo

Panoramic view from Nebo

At the border, we had to leave two of our group behind. Tony Fernández, from Cuba, and Isaac Unda Torres, from Venezuela, didn’t have visas that assured them of re-entry into Israel if they exited the country. To be on the safe side, they went to Jerusalem and toured on their own while we went to Jordan.

We visited a mosaic factory. Very interesting place, though well out of our price range. The employees are Christians. The ones doing the actual art work are disabled women who would find it hard to find a job anywhere else.

Creating mosaics

Mosaic factory

This mosaic dining room set had a price of over $50,000

For lunch we stopped at a wonderful restaurant in Jordan. One time when the group was there, the prime minister’s wife was dining. We didn’t see anyone famous, but enjoyed the lunch.

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Lunch in Jordan

From there, it was on to Petra. We saw many Bedouins on the way. Desolate landscape, but still very interesting.

We saw many pillars of stone on the way, set up as monuments to some event. Reminded us of how people put crosses by the side of the road here in the States.

Sundown at Petra

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Petra (Israel trip, day 7)

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