April 2, 2022
A sea day ~Temperatures don't matter on board. You can baste in the sun or chill in the AC. Your choice!
At 6:00PM, we had a Saturday night version of our Sunday worship service. Enrico wasn't able to play for us, so Olga, the resident pianist, stepped in to accompany us on the hymns. Roger, the man who's organizing these services has asked me to pick out the songs and scripture to go with them for a hymn sing on Palm Sunday. I'm so glad to have church on board!
We called an early night and retired immediately after supper because our next all day excursion was to Petra, the Rose City!
April 3, 2022
I sort of see a +like "X" carved into the walls
87 degrees. We really dodged a bullet. It was supposed to be high 90's, and once we were in the shade of the Siq (pronounced "seek"), Petra was deliciously cool!
"X never marks the spot."
~ Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade.
If I were looking for a place to build a city, Petra wouldn't be high on my list. It seems so inaccessible, so impossibly beyond the back of nowhere. Yet, the ancient city held some incredible secrets and was located perfectly to capture the spice trade caravans on their way. Near the caravan town of Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses), the Nabataeans who built Petra used the water that flowed through that valley to construct a sophisticated system of canals and cisterns for the hidden city. At one point it's estimated that Petra had enough water in cistern storage to last through 5 years of drought.
If Wadi Musa was a trade town and meeting place for caravans from Asia, Africa and Europe, Petra was a necropolis, a city of the dead. It was a holy city, a place to lay loved ones to rest, and was not just dedicated to the desert gods of the formerly nomadic Nabataeans, who originated out of the Arabian peninsula. There are images of the gods of Rome and India and empty niches available for mourners to install images of their own gods above their hollowed out graves.
Later in its history, Petra was occupied by the living alongside the dead. There is a Roman era amphitheater that seats 4000. And the ruin of a Christian monastery is perched at the end of a long climb followed by 900 steps.
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| The Treasury |
There are several ways to reach Petra once you enter the gates up top. We could ride the local Bedouin's horses down the half mile path. (Unfortunately, I haven't ridden since 2001 when we moved out of Wyoming.) Or ride in one of their horse-drawn carts. (We were very happy we passed on those because they had no springs and would rattle the passengers teeth out as they bounced over the sections of Roman-era paving stones that were not in pristine condition!) Or we could ride the new golf carts down and back up. We decided to walk down to the "Treasury" (which was actually an official's tomb, not the hiding place of the Holy Grail and the last of the Knights Templar!) and once we were done exploring, we'd catch a golf cart back up.
It turned out to be an excellent decision. Walking downhill is my wheelhouse so we had no trouble making a leisurely descent.
We were also able to stick with Nile, our guide for the day, who pointed out items of interest along the way. If we'd ridden down too, we'd have missed all the evidence of the ancient waterways along the sides of the path, and the many tombs dug into the hillsides (a sort of "wrong side of the tracks" graveyard.)
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| The equivalent of modern day highway billboards- A man leading a camel was carved into the rock in front of the deep hand-hewn channel that carried water into the city. Sadly, all that remains are his and the camel's feet, but we could make out the faint outline of the camel's body. They seem to say, "This way for water, fodder, food and rest--all your oasis needs." |
Once we reached the Treasury, Nile sort of disappeared though we could still hear his voice on our "quiet vox"--the electronic devices with earpieces we wear on tours. It wasn't a great loss. We really wanted to take our time and explore on our own. We weren't able to enter the Treasury. It's roped off, so we only have their word for it that the Holy Grail isn't still in there!. But there was another tomb that was open for us to visit. One, thankfully, without any occupants.
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| The colors in the stone are so amazingly vibrant. |
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| Bedouins were living in the cave tombs of Petra until the government of Jordan decided to develop it for tourism. As an incentive for them to give up the site, the tribe was given new homes nearby, and were granted concession rights in the area. So the tribe earns its living selling souvenirs, offering camel rides, and, in our case, ferrying footsore foreigners back up the trail in their shiny new golf carts once we're done looking around. |
We stopped for bit to have a snack and drink some of the water we'd brought with us from the ship (Hey! I've seen Slum Dog Millionaire. Not all bottled water is created equal!) This fine young man stopped to ask if we wanted to ride his smaller camel, Caramel, while he led us from his perch on Zu-Zu. We declined, but I asked him if he'd like a chocolate and he was quick to nod and smile. I'd brought a Toblerone from the ship so I handed it up to him. He opened it and took a bite, and while he did that, Zu-Zu swung her massive neck around so he could give her the other half of his treat! There was no denying her. What was his was also hers! It was clear man and beast had a very close relationship, though I can't say for certain who was in charge.
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| The striations of color on the walls fascinate me. The geology of the region is diverse. There is evidence of both volcanic and sedimentary processes, and at one time, the whole of Jordan was under water in an ancient sea. |
The DH and I are working on The Bible in One Year app put out by Alpha, a British Christian organization. We're trudging through the Pentateuch right now, but it's exciting to think we are visiting some of the places the Israelites literally trudged through as they prepared to cross the Jordan River into the promised land. Moses' bones must rest somewhere in Jordan's bleak mountain range.
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| Aaron, Mose's brother, died here as well. His supposed grave is marked with a small, white chapel. Our guide said, "Look! It's over there!" but for the life of me, I couldn't see what he was pointing at. |
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| Camels do not store water in their humps. It's actually in their dinner-plate sized feet and in the horny calluses on their knees. |
When the time came to mosey back up the hill to the Movenpik Hotel where we were scheduled to have lunch, we returned to the spot where we'd bought our golf cart tickets earlier. However, we discovered it wasn't enough to have a ticket. You had to be willing to jump the queue and grab a seat when a cart appeared, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. Here's where it really paid off that David had tipped Sadam, the ticket seller, an extra $5.00 just for him when we bought our rides. Sadam remembered David, waded into the fray and made sure all four of us had seats on the next cart going up.
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| The Movenpik Atrium--a 21st century take on the Hejazi style of architecture we saw in Saudi. |
Our buffet lunch was lovely and the air conditioned hotel very refreshing. Then on the two hour ride back to the ship, we stopped at a roadside souk where Viking had set up a treat for us--fresh figs and baklava served with iced tea spiced with cinnamon and another more exotic spice whose name escapes me.
We were tired, but thankful for the joys of the day. I'm especially thankful for the way the DH straps on Herkimer (my Portable Oxygen Concentrator) and carries my weakness as if it's no big deal. He makes it possible for me to have these lovely adventures and keeps my world from collapsing in on itself. God love the man. I certainly do.
Early to bed because tomorrow, we visit Wadi Rum for a re-enactment of the Arab Revolt with Lawrence of Arabia leading the charge!
PS. The DH continues to work on his photo montages, but the Star's internet isn't sufficient for him to upload them to YouTube. We're hopeful once we reach the Med, he'll be able to create a strong enough hotspot with his phone!
Looks like Viking is treating you very well. It would be interesting to compare Viking and Oceania for World Cruise offerings.
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