After lunch, which was noteworthy primarily for the chicken wings, the hot chocolate, and being out of the freezing temperatures and punishing wind, we had free time. Carol, Mary and Neil opted to head back to the hotel, which is not a quick trip.
I opted to wander, especially interested in hitting the high roads and seeing some additional highlights up close. I skipped the Ad Deir monastery, as the chance of rain on the slick rocks would have made it a dangerous hike. We ended up not getting much rain, but I didn't know that at the time. The map lists it as a three hour hike, which also was a deterrent.
First I took the high road to the Church. I came to the fork in the road, and, at the advice of Yogi Berra, took it. Alas, I should have gone left instead of right. It didn't really matter, as I got great height views of the Colonnaded Street, the Great Templ, and Qasr al-Bint. The latter was the most important temple in Petra, and boasts the only remaining free-standing walls; they reach to 75 feet.
After rounding the hill, I doubled back to the Church, which was of moderate interest. Instead, the views afforded by the heights were the highlight. Rather than double back down and then climb again to the Royal Tombs, I cut across the heights, down to a gorge with a rickety bridge (Osama was impressed I took the bridge, he thinks it is too dangerous. I'm still alive, but, having crossed it, I'm sympathetic to his point of view). Then there was a second climb to a really clear view of the Royal Tombs.
The funny thing about that last climb is that it seemed like a middle of nowhere trail that few take, but almost to top was a Bedouin woman with a souvenir stand. She was nice, but I didn't stop to look. I just don't see how you make money at that location.
By the way, by "souvenir stand" I mean a bunch of boards on rocks with stuff for sale on the boards, and a small hut with scarves in it. It's definitely not like any souvenir stand you've seen before.
After crossing over in front of the Royal Tombs, I followed the path past more makeshift souvenir stands, and climbed the multiple flights of rock-cut stairs to the Urn Tomb. Meanwhile, I had to wave off the entreaties of shopkeepers to come into their caves and buy something. I felt bad, but they didn't have anything I wanted.
I wandered around inside and outside of the tomb for a bit, before heading back down. As I headed down, guys riding donkeys rode up the steep hillside right near me.
On the way back, I met a 12-13 year old who was hanging out at the Theatre. He was quite chatty. At first I figured he was going to try to sell me something or scam some money out of me. That suspicion increased when he called me "rich" as in "you're rich" multiple times. He never did try to sell me anything, and we talked for a bit -- there's a selfie I took of us in the next post.
I thought about climbing to the High Place of Sacrifice, but my bad knee was whining at me. Next I dawdled around the Treasury (aka Al-Khazneh) for some more pictures. There were a lot fewer people there, so much so it felt like I had the place nearly to myself.
With my knee swelling, I toyed with the idea of riding a camel up to the top, but nobody seemed interested in having their camel hired. I eschewed the golf cart up through As Siq, the slot canyon, as it appeared it would be a long time before the next one left. I was right, as I got all the way up the Slot Canyon to the Dam before the first one came up towards the entry gate.
I did hire a horse to take me from the Dam to the entry gate. I'm not the most comfortable person on a horse, but I prefer that to a camel or a donkey. I held on tight, and watched a young woman ride back and forth on her horse for some time. She's obviously experienced, whereas I think I've ridden horses five times -- Morocco, Hawaii, Arizona, Wintergreen, and now Jordan. Odds are high this was my last time on a horse.
After 11 miles of hiking, and some modest distance on a horse, I was done for the day. It was quite a visit to Petra.
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