day 88 – aqaba, jordan

jordanian flag

omigosh, i can’t believe i got to go to petra… four words come to mind: a – may – za – zing!!!!!  once again, bob’s work schedule did not permit him to do this full day adventure, but he encouraged me to go and experience it and bring back the stories and pictures… though only some estimated 20% of petra has been excavated, the ruins that are accessible are quite incredible.  the various colors of the sandstone, golden, red, purple keep changing as the sun moves across the sky and changes the shadows…. walking through the bottom of narrow ravines, there are massive caves, tombs and carved facades around you… i’ve never seen anything like it, but let me back up a bit… the country just driving to this place was stunning; i had no idea jordan was so mountainous!  the vistas just before approaching petra are as grand as the grand canyon, and going through the desert with these vast mountains was heartstoppingly beautiful.  we took the road from the port of aqaba towards amman and turned left about halfway there… we stopped at a rest stop to get coffee, use the restroom and get souvenirs and continued to the entrance to petra. 

town by petra

i was on a crew tour, with 3 busloads of crew members.  they gave us a bag lunch and water, and off we went.  from the parking area you could ride a horse or walk to the park entrance… i am allergic to horses, so i walked.  going into the park is a steady downhill walk winding through crevasses with narrow rock walls on either side of you… some carvings and niches occur even in these parts of the park… as you continue on, you finally reach some of the open ruins of this former city… the stonework is so grand, it is hard to put into adequate words, and i know even the pictures will water down the reality of the powerful visuals… knowing that my entire trip back would be uphill, i budgeted my time to give myself halfagain as much time to return as i had taken to go in.  glad i did!  they had little horse carts, too, but i felt like those should be for the older folks and i knew i could do it if i paced myself and drank plenty of water.  i felt quite victorious to make it in to see several places and hike out and still be on time to catch the ride back.  i had a delightful chat with our bus driver, a very nice man from amman; we talked about world religions and the history of this area… so fascinating!  we stopped at a different rest stop on the way back and got refreshments and more souvenirs (i got bath salts from the dead sea, which jordan shares with Israel).

rather than captioning these photos, i'll just say they literally pale in comparison with real size and color...

again, please refer to wikipedia or find a book at the library for a more detailed history of petra, which i won’t go way into here, because it is pretty fascinating.  if you watched the 3^rd indiana jones movie with sean connery as indy’s dad, it’s the place he goes to find the holy grail… i didn’t cross any invisible bridges like he did, but i did have a dramatic and exciting hike today that i will never forget!  i made it back to the ship before bob’s cocktail set was over, around 5:15, so we had supper, i took a quick shower, and we both went back to work at 7.  they had a cultural show on the mainstage at 9:30, one show only, so my lounge was a ghost town during that time.  it never picked up much since we have had two very busy, lengthy, hot and sunny, active days in a row… a couple of days at sea will be just what the doctor ordered. 

my theme tonight was great american songbook (irving berlin, george gershwin, etc.), which would usually pack the house, but even these songwriting giants couldn’t pull them away from their pillows last night!  i am still reeling from the last two days of epic sights and scenery… i know i will sleep well and have ancient dreams…  ciao for now!

port song for aqaba, Jordan

(to the tune of john williams’ theme from indiana jones movies)

got up this morning, and took a bus for a crew tour, there were lots of us!

we’re in jordan, for the day

we’ll go from aqaba to petra, we’re here so lead the way

in movies, or history books is the only time i’ve seen how petra looks

i’m excited and can’t believe

we’re going to petra, to petra, it’s quite hard to conceive

so we drove through the desert, and we stopped to buy souvenirs

i got scarves, a cookbook and a bag of mud

and some bath salts for my girlfriends way back home

then we drove on to see those rocks the canyon landscape knocked off all our socks

and the wonders, we saw there

in petra, oh petra, were way beyond compare

i walked in there, and i walked out yes, i did it, tho i’d had my doubts

i was victorious, and impressed

of all the crew tours i’ve ever done, petra was by far the best

and since i didn’t include it in yesterday’s blog, (no time to type it!) her is safaga’s song.

port song for safaga, egypt

(to the tune of louis armstrong’s “what a wonderful world”)

i see trees of green, bougainvillea, too

and many other flowers of every hue

and i say to myself, this is such an ancient world

the sky and the lands feel so wide and bright

i wish we could stay for the light show tonight

and watch the colors light up this old ancient world

the colors of the donkeys as we are going by

there’s brown ones and there’s white ones all so cute that i could cry

and the kids smile and wave, vendors push their wares with pride

they really need the tourist trade here to survive

i see children everywhere, and watch them play

from the tower of every mosque i hear the voices pray

and i say to myself, this is such an ancient world

they’re so glad to see us, so may here are poor

since the revolution this is my guide ahmed’s first tour

they want us to come back to this ancient world

the temples were so amazing, but no crowds pushing the limit

i even got some pictures with no other tourists in it

like i was all by myself, in this ancient world of kimet

the hieroglyphics, they were stunning, and those obelisks, immense

i’m so glad it wasn’t humid ‘cause the heat was so intense

and i wish that we had more than only just one day

i’d take bob and hop on a riverboat on the nile and sail away

the mud bricks of the houses, with the clothes hung out to dry

the donkeys and the flowers and ancient temples in my eyes

and i say to myself, what an awesome ancient world

i hope i’ll come back again to this awesome ancient world