It has been a busy week at Wadi Musa...

Last night Bill, Bruce, Fred & I were invited to a Bedouin BarBQ. It was an idyllic setting near Little Petra, hosted by 4 gentlemen associated with the Petra equine program.  It was a unique & wonderful experience: sharing food (chicken, onions, potatoes & fresh greens) and companionship under a near-full moon, tucked among a rocky alcove on mats & pillows. The night sky was fantastic, and as I refleced on our 1st week at Petra I thought about the many millennia of use and cultural practices in the area: Paleo-hunter-gatherer to today. We have visted many of the visitor destination features of this incredible area: The Shiq, Al-Khazneh (Treasury), Theatre, many tombs, Colanaded Street, Ad-Deir (Monastery), High Place of Sacrifice, and many other places - like hiking to narrows of Al-Muthlim Tunnel and then up a high trail overlooking the Al-Khazneh (that a fraction of visitors take). The sites and monuments are spectacular, but the story here has always been the people.This week we met government officials from the Petra Development & Tourism Region Authority, Jordan Tourism Board (North America Director), Siyaha (Jordan Tourism Development Project II, Park Rangers, horsemen, tour guides, shop owners, street vendors, craftspeople, and of course the most essential component of bringing this city of trade back to life: visitors. At 1st, this Park Ranger was shocked by the many unauthorized activities occurring- shops, vendors and donkeys galore. It seemed like "money changers in the temple" to me, but I came to realize my western perspective was at work. I found a new appreciation for the efforts and works of our ancestors. What better way to celebrate the heritage they have bestowed than bringing some vitality of their works back to life: better than empty cold stone monuments. Can you imagine what this was like during its zenith with 20,000 people population the area? As I look down at the Theatre and Colannaded Street I imagine a well populated vibrant market place as well 2,000 years ago. Today's vendors and shop owners help recreate this link with the past; of course some Roman organization and order would be appropriate to. Let me know if there is a subject you'd like addressed. The Nabataeans were worshippers of water, and master hydro-engineers, so next time I thought I'd reflect-on-that...

Theatre

Ad-Deir area

interesting travel link with some good additonal photos of Petra:
http://www.toddswanderings.com/2010/12/petra-jordan-tour.html