Episode 01: "The Judge" (+) [P1]

A short time before I left Kibbutz Samar, I was fortunate enough to make a trip to the ancient city of Petra, in Jordan. Petra is known for its exceptional rock carvings formed by the ancient Nabateans, a pre-Islamic Arab people. During a weekday, I hitched a morning ride from one of the kibbutz vans. Thanks to the help of one of the wonderful women inside, Batya, I was dropped off as close to the Jordan border as possible.

The road to Jordan.

This would be my second time in an Arabic-speaking country, and my time in Egypt was definitely at the forefront of my mind. But without my two other "judges" with me--Eric and Gaby, from last semester--I was going to have to brave all the nuances of Arabic culture on my own, whatever they might be.

Getting through the border was fine, and I found a cab driver named Mohammad soon after I crossed over. I tried negotiating a price, keeping my Egypt performance with that in mind, but a faulty start on my part kind of sealed the deal before I could wrestle any shining bargains out of the guy. Guess it's gonna a few more tries to nail down this "being assertive" thing.

Fortunately, Mohammad was exceptionally nice and actually seemed genuine. He bought me food on the way to Petra, talked with me and gave me some helpful advice about the weather: a mounting storm would be putting a lot of snow on the ground, so I couldn't stay in Petra too long--or I might get stuck in Jordan for the night. He dropped me off, arranged a meeting time with me, and sent me on my way. This was one of the first structures I saw:

This kind of thing is commonplace in Petra.

I walked through a long rock corridor, which was made naturally by water, but improved and finished by the Nabateans for my viewing pleasure.

Soon I was at the famous Treasury, the monolith of a building that this place is known for. It was ridiculously large and clearly made with skill and care. I chilled at that spot for a while to take it in.

After the treasury, I came across a gorgeous amphitheater. My roommate Brian had told me about it before, and it was a great site to see up close. I also passed by a few other incredible structures as the road stretched on.


I made an impulsive detour and found myself completely alone, exploring one of the hundreds of offshoots that led to higher ground. Climbing the stairs to the top was kind of thrilling to do on my own, and finally seeing the top view was rewarding. I took it all in at the summit, aware that I wouldn't be able to see everything with the short amount of time I had, but glad I had made the most of it.

The beginning of the climb.

At the summit.

And on a side note, compared to the horde of tourist-predators I'd met in Egypt, Petra hadn't been that bad at all. A little girl in Petra had offered me a beautiful rock, and asked me for something in return. When I told her I didn't have anything for her, she told me to keep the rock anyway. Later, a bedouin woman had asked me to buy something, and when I said no, she still invited me for tea. And driving home, Mohammed bought me a pretty big lunch, free of charge. It was a nice, refreshing reality check: Just because I'd made mistakes in Egypt didn't mean everyone was out to get me.

Mohammed got me home okay and gave me his card in case I wanted to come back to Petra. As beautiful as the city was the first time, there was plenty more to see. I'm planning on making it back there, soon.

Shalom,
Eric

P.S. - [P] is for "photos" from now on, if I have an album to attach to the entry. You can find the photos under the "production stills" sidebar.