Petra, home of the ancient Nabateans, is a city of buildings hewn from cliff faces. To anyone with even a mild interest in history, architecture, or geology, it's a remarkable place. To fans of Indiana Jones, it's also the location of the "Temple of the Crescent Moon" (called the Treasury at the site) which houses the holy grail.
The rest of the site is just as astonishing, as was the long hike up the Wadi Muthlim ravine which I shared with a pair of Australian cousins I met at the hostel. The ravine is an alternate way to enter the city, which allows you to bypass the Treasury and save it as the finale before exiting Petra. It takes about an hour and a half, with dillydallying, to wind through the narrow canyon. The route is closed if rain is expected: flash floods which tear through the area may have contributed to the downfall of the city, and even today piles of tires, oil drums and other rubbish are scattered over the rocks, doubtlessly swept away by the torrential rains. But skies were clear for Jessica, Adam and me, and we tramped merrily away, stifling exhilerated giggles from the awesomeness of the rock formations.
After a solid eight hours on site, we rallied with our bus and shuttled back to the hostel for showers. I took a load off while Jessica and Adam scouted dinner locations, and returned with not only a recommendation, but an invitation from a friendly pastry chef to after-dinner tea and hookah at his hostel-adjacent home. We dined on roasted chicken, rice, mutable (eggplant) and salad, then watched fireworks from a wedding accross town on the pastry chef Shaheen's roof. His daughter Sara helped bring coals for the water pipe while the younger son Izzadin screamed with glee at the pyrotechnics, and the rest of us enjoyed sweet rosemary mint tea and almond candies.
The Aussies departed for Israel in the early morning, and I bussed up to Karak, a crusader castle further north. After a day in Amman milling about the ancient citadel, I flew luxurious Middle East Airlines over to Lebanon, getting a free International Herald Tribune and in it, my first New York Times crossword puzzle in over a year. After a dinner of tabouleh and hummus on the waterfront in Beirut, I happened upon a Starbucks with decaf (!) coffee, and enjoyed a cup while working on my crossword. Then I listened to Benny Goodman on the iPod and walked to the ABC Achrafiye cinema for the eight o'clock showing of Ben Affleck's "The Town," my first theater movie in two months (I can't remember the last time I went two months without going to the movies).
After a few more easy days in Lebanon, then a few in Istanbul, I'm off to Copenhagen, my westernmost destination yet, the third in this tri-continental tour (excluding home), and hopefully, a computer that will upload photos. Until then, check out the last 20 minutes of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" for a visual aid.
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