August 6, 2001 Dana Petra (1) |
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Today,
departure for Petra with Antoon, a friend of Nabil drives us to the crossroad
to take a minibus at 7:00. I find a seat next to an Iraqi, a mathematics
teacher in Amman. We are going to Maan and we speak on various subjects but
I am really interested by what he can tell me about his country. He invites
me to come and have a look there but I reply that the border is closed to
individual travelers and that only groups are able to visit a little part of
Iraq. We also speak about the embargo from the United Nations and its effects
on the population. Many Iraqis have no other choice but to come in Jordan to
work and earn some money for their families. I speak about France, he really
would like to see Paris. With him I learn some new words in Arabic. On our way to
the bus station in Maan, he is looking for coins to pay the journey and I
see a banknote that I never saw. He sows me a 100 Iraqi dinars banknote with
Saddam Hussein on it. I want to buy the banknote, it will be a great souvenir
from this encounter, a rare item. With a big smile, he offers me the blue
item, wonderful (Helou). We say goodbye. Souvenir from
an Iraqi encounter In Maan, we
get on a brand new minibus, a premiere. We were used to old stuffs til this
moment. There is hardly anybody in the station but the driver starts the
engine and we are gone. Strange !! It is the first time that a minibus leaves
the station without being full. We understand why in Wadi Musa. He asks us
for 1.5 JD for the 20 km, it is out of question. There will be no
negotiation, he should have wait for other people in Ma'an. Finally we reach
an agreement at 500 fils. We are
looking for the valentine hotel recommended by Nabil, the hotel is crowded
with many backpacks in the lobby. After an orange juice and the purchase of
bottles of water in the shops near the obelisk circle, I go directly to the
entrance of the site where I buy a 3 days pass for 30 JD (25 JD for 2 days
and 20 JD for 1 day) that allows me to stay the 4th day for free. Once the
ticket bought, I start towards the entrance of the siq. On the way, you can
see 3 blocks of stone, these are the first tower tombs of the site. A little
further, another tomb is sculpted in the rock. On the lower part, erosion
widens the gate and attacks the columns. On the upper level, you can see the
4 obelisks and you immediately think of Egypt. Petra :
Pyramids tomb After a 30
minutes walk, we arrive at the entrance of the siq that will lead to the site
of Petra. Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, a Swiss, rediscovered the site in 1812.
The excavations and the restoration of the monuments started in 1929, they
are still go on today. I imagined the siq narrower than it is whereas it is
wide enough. The ground is covered with concrete but it is not obvious. The
surrounding are rock faces of 100m. On the whole path there is a canal on one
side that enable the lower city to benefit from the water near the entrance. Petra :
The Siq After another
30 minutes walk, a tiny part of a rose monument is revealed to us through the
rocks. The arrival on the Khazneh is superb. Petra :
The entrance by the Khazneh This monument,
an architectural jewel, sets the entrance of the necropolis of Petra. His
Arabic name comes from a legend saying that the urn at the top contains a
treasury (khazneh) left there by a pharaoh. Bedouins have tried to fire at
the monument in order to retrieve this treasury. The khazneh shoul have been
built between the 1st century before Christ and the 2nd
century after Christ. The sumptuousness of the outside contrasts with the
poverty of the inside. |
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Aleppo San Simeon Aleppo D11 :
Aleppo Qalaat Al Saadin Tartous (1)
(2) D12 :
Tartous Krak des chevaliers Beirut (1) (2) D15 :
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Last update : January 2002
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