The next day I returned to Wihdat Station and took a bus from Amman to Wadi Musa. Wadi Musa is a small town surrounding the site of Petra, which is by far Jordan's biggest tourist attraction. This trip was 5 dinars (about $7), a little more expensive than normal, but it was almost a three hour ride, so it was worth it. This was a standard inter-city bus, so it was much cheaper than going with the traditional tourist transportation. My cab driver told me that wihdat means "unity", representing the unity between the Palestinian and Jordanian people. The Wihdat neighborhood is mostly Palestinian and is quite poor.
al-Widat Station in Amman.
Road into Wadi Musa.
I arrived in Wadi Musa a little after noon, and I went to this place called the Valentine Hotel, which a guy from the Cliff Hostel in Amman recommended to me. This one was a little more than dirt cheap - about $18 per night including a full buffet meal - but it was very clean and had a great atmosphere about it. Originally I was planning on going back to Amman that night, but I realized that wouldn't be possible.
After checking in, I went straight to the Petra site, which was only a two minute drive from the hotel. As expected, Petra was heavily commercialized and immensely popular, judging by the thousands of tourists visiting that day. There were tourists from all over the world, though there was a disproportionally large number of French tourists. The admission charge was a whopping 21 dinars (about $30) per day, about twenty times the price of every other attraction in Jordan.
The weather in Wadi Musa and Petra was very hot, perhaps above ninety degrees at some point.
Petra was constructed by the Nabateans around the year 100 BC, and is now considered to be among the New Seven Wonders of the World. The entrance to Petra involves a route called the Siq, which is a narrow path through a massive carved canyon. The Siq is almost a mile long, and is cool and dark, but some light seeps in from above.
Before entering the Siq.
Views from the Siq.
After the long walk through the Siq, the next landmark is the Treasury. It's a massive building carved into the side of the cliffs.
The Treasury.
Some unknown structures not far from the city center.
Tourists getting a camel ride.
After passing by the Treasury, there are a number of smaller structures. I decided to take the less popular route up the mountain along this way, and it turned out to be a good move. The route consists of a long hike (at least a half hour) with thousands of well-placed ancient steps. It is one of the highest places in Petra.
Along the route to the high place.
At the summit of the mountain is the High Place of Sacrifice, perhaps the most impressive place in all of Petra. It's skipped by most tourists since it's a relatively strenuous climb. Atop the High Place are flat stones were sacrifices took place, though whether they were human or animal is unknown. The view from the High Place is amazing, and quite dangerous since there are drops on all sides of the cliff of hundreds of feet.
Views from the High Place of Sacrifice
After climbing back down to the main level of Petra, the other main sites to see are the theater and the Temple of Urn. After that, I passed through the city center with its Roman-style road and various structures on either side.
Theatre.
Temple of Urn.
The city center.
The only vendors that are allowed to sell anything within the Petra site are the bedouins. They sell crafts, donkey and camel rides, food, and drink and they all speak fluent English. It seems like some of them actually live in Petra.
I then began the long walk to the Monastery, which is the furthest significant point in Petra. It took me about twenty-five minutes, although the guidebook suggested allowing an hour to climb the summit. The walk was definitely worth it, however, since the Monastery is the best monument at Petra.
Walking to the Monastery.
The Monastery.
Further beyond the Monastery is what is called the "View of the End of the World." From this view you can see Mount Harun, where Moses' brother Aaron is buried, and parts of Saudi Arabia.
View of the End of the World.
I've heard it suggested by multiple people that you need about two days to see all of Petra. I disagree, as I was able to see everything at Petra in a total of five hours. I was moving fast, since I wanted to see everything in a single day, but I don't think it is necessary to spend more than a day there. However, Petra makes for a very worthwhile and memorable visit.
After that, the hotel staff ran a pickup trick back to the hotel. There was a good buffet that night and the weather was nice enough to sit on the deck until the evening. The hotel had people from all over - France, England, Australia, Spain, Korea, Germany, US, and other places.
Driving back to the hotel.
View from the hotel.
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