Petra/Amman - Days 67-69

I can honestly day this: Petra does not disappoint. Despiet the rough start in Jordan, Petra made up for everything and more.

To back track a little bit, I had a bit of an issue at the Israeli/Jordan border. I entered Jordan without a hitch but the taxi drivers there at the border are Nazis - one in partiular. This taxi driver ring leader, let's call him Hitler, wanted 10 Jordanian Dinar to Aqaba center, and the normal price is probably 5. And he wanted 50 JD to Petra. So he told me the price along with another group of 4 travelers and none of us wanted to take the cab since it was an obvious ripoff. And Hilter got angry and said "YOU WALK!" That's when I decided to start walking to other cabs and asking around, and he told me "You can't walk!" Men... That's when another drive (not in a taxi) approached me and offered 20 JD to Petra. He was a guide and just happened to be dropping off clients and needed to go back anyway. That's when Hitler started yelling at him and the verbal assults started. It got so bad that the police had to take them and me to the office and sort things out. Eventually after 30 minutes, Salah-my driver/guide, just decided to bribe the guy with my 20 JD and leave.

So on the way he suggested we stay at Wadi Rum at a bedouin camp for the night so I can see a bit of the desert and it was on the way to Petra anyway. Good suggestion because it didn't end up being very expensive and the scenery is gorgeous. The area was made famous by Lawrence of Arabia - both the person and the movie since it was filmed there.

We finally arrive in Petra around noon the next day and I settle in with my host, Ahmad. I decided to wait until the next day to buy a two day pass to properly take advantage of it. At 50/55/60 JD for a 1/2/3 day pass, Petra is probably the most expensive entrance ticket so far. The exchange rate is about $1 = 0.70 JD, crazy! But like I said, it definitely does not disappoint. Petra is always advertised with one iconic image so in my mind that was "Petra" but in actuality, that's about 1/100 of Petra.

The visit starts with about a 1.5 km walk from the visitor center and through the Siq to the Treasury (that famous image). So it really builds some suspense as well because just when you think the Siq (or the canyon) would never end, it opens up onto the Treasury. And that's just the beginning. As you continue walking, there are carved tombs, theaters, cave dwellings, collapsed columns everywhere. As I overheard one guy put it so eloquently, "Holy sh*t, this is a f*^king city!"

It really is. They had places for worship, sacrifice, entertainment - all the bases covered. There is also a paved main street with columns and an arch and originally shops and temples are both sides. Walking through the lost city, one can really imagine a civilization living there 2000 years ago. It makes you wonder if the residents then were as impressed with their own city. After two days at Petra, I made the transfer to Amman today via a local bus and took in some of the sights, which total about two, haha. Everybody has been saying how Amman is boring or has little to offer. It's not horrible but definitely not like capital cities of its neighbors (Damascus, Beirut, even Cairo). Too bad I won't get to visit Damascus this time!

Tonight I'm meeting up with a Japanese girl living here - a friend of a friend. Staying with her tonight and leaving for Jerusalem tomorrow. So I will have to endure yet another border entry and perhaps another body search. Maybe it'll be a total strip search this time?