Petra

There are some distinct advantages to working with a group of archeologists whose survey site lies within the boundaries of Petra. First, we can get into the park for free - and it's usually around $50 US dollars. The second is, that when they want to hike back to our site, we get to drive them through the park. Yup, drive!

Petra is the ancient Nabataean city from the early spice trade. Made famous by such movies as the third Indian Jones (where the Holy Grail was) or Transformers 2 (where they blew it up), it's magnificent buildings carved out of the sandstone walls. Lost to the Western world for hundreds of years, it is now one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and a tourist hot spot for the country of Jordan. It's actually why most people visit.

The amazing thing about the site which you never see in the photos is all of the different colors of sandstone that appear with each new area. The Treasury is brown, but some of the Royal Tombs are red, yellow, blue and black, all swirling into different patterns - looping around doorways and windows. Inside, the shadows and light dance around the stone, giving one the sense of what it has always looked like.

It takes days to see any portion of the park, but most come on tour buses from Amman for only the hottest part of the day. Lisa the photographer and I napped under a tree. I took out my mini-keychain thermometer and noted it was 95 degrees on my right leg in the shade, 105 on my left leg in partial shade, and 115 on the rock next to my head. We are acclimated though, and we noted how cool the day was.


Driving has its own amazing perks. There isn't the 40 minute walk down to the Roman Collinade and "downtown", and you get to see the areas hidden in back where the Bedouin still live in tents next to ancient tombs. Children ride donkeys. Camels run along the dirt path, blocking our progress. We try to herd them out of the way, but it takes miles. The cliffs, with hidden caves and old tombs loom on either side, and eventually we make it to a ridge line were we can see the whole valley, down to Wadi Araba and our home in Risha. We leave the hikers there, laden with water and plan to see them back home eight or nine hours later.

They had adventures of their own, with cliffs crumbling under them, falling and coming up bruised but intact. Two got lost for a time, but they all arrived home in good spirits with amazing blisters. The Bedouins were amazed. They are usually the only people who wander these lands, though they do it in flip flops and without water.

So Isaiah and I drive back, past Roman columns and tourists who look at us in wonder. "You mean you can drive?" looks on their red, tired faces. No, you can't, unless you're special. Like us.