October 13, 2008 – Aqaba, Jordan

The alarm went off at 3:00am and we left the ship with 13 other people to drive 2 hours from Aqaba to the ancient city of Petra. Petra had been occupied since Neolithic periods, later by the Edomites from around 1200 BC and finally occupied by the Nabataeans around the 5th & 6th centuries BC. By the 4th century BC it became the center of Nabataean culture and a crossroad and watering center for the spice traders from China, Greece, Egypt & India. The archaeological area we explored was actually the Nabataean burial area and not accessed by the spice caravans. Petra is situated in a sandstone cliff area and the Nabataeans were obviously skilled in sandstone carving before arriving t Petra. They carved from the top down so that falling slabs wouldn’t ruin any finished areas. The burial chambers and tombs are carved into the sides of the cliffs and some are several stories high. The entry to the area is along a high walled valley carved out by the annual rains & floods over millions of years. The Nabataeans developed a sophisticated system of water channels and cisterns to carry then through the 9 month dry period. It was a magnificent site and we were fortunate to enter it just before sunrise and view the most important structures before the throngs of tourists arrived 3 hours later. The visit involved over 3 miles of walking downhill and the same distance back up the same route. Donkeys, camels and horse carriages were available for hire, but you would miss too much that way. Some areas have extremely colorful striping’s of color in the sandstone with colors ranging from brown to yellow to red to blue to purple and mixes of the colors. It was a truly exceptional experience. After 6 hours of walking, viewing and photographing, we were taken to the Movenpick hotel for a delicious Middle Eastern buffet lunch. We returned to the ship around 4:00pm and were so stiff & sore that we took a good soak in the whirlpool. After dinner we had an early night because departure the next morning was at 7:30 for an overnight excursion.