Trade: as important then as today

Having long been interested in Chinese history and archaeology (since my undergraduate & graduate work) let’s look at the trade routes that came from there and those that passed through here; along with any similarities. When Meme & I visited Xian, and the tomb warrior army of Qin Shi huang-ti (usually credited as the 1^st Emperor of China and the individual giving “the Middle Kingdom” its name: Qin = Chin), you couldn’t help but notice that the great empires of Alexander and Qin started inching towards each other. Many say Xian is China’s Silk Road launch-pad. Of course the routes carried much more than silks; they carried everything from customs to wealth to plague.

Beginning with Alexander in 329 BCE, the Hellenistic Greek influence remained in Central Asia for 3 centuries. Meanwhile, the Han Dynasty (ethnic Chinese still refer to themselves as Han [Children of Han]) was reaching ever westward into Central Asia. Long before the song, it was realized “Money makes the world go around.”

What does this have to do with Petra you ask? Well, it certainly owed its development and prominence due to its location on key trade routes, and even though maps show the Silk Road being primarily north of here (to Damascus) the route here was certainly a trade contributor. Petra was Nabataean and they were recruited by the Greeks as part of the Hellenistic trade empire. This was continued into Roman times as well, but the Romans did by-pass Petra as part of their strategy to vanquish the military of the Nabataeans and have them join the empire (“it is for your own good and you’ll prosper too…”).

The trading that occurred became part of the life-blood of empires. Can you imagine the generations of merchant-travelers that trod those various trails? Most were long before Marco Polo’s time. In fact, the desire for silk became so disruptive to the treasury of Rome that the purchase of same was forbidden: too much gold going east (similar to what the British Empire later experienced and why Queen Victoria became the world’s largest drug dealer in history: forcing at gun-point China to allow opium to be imported & sold from her colonies in India).  Hmmm, sounds semi-familiar to the news on BBC & CNN sometimes…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army

“On the road… AGAIN”

            Since my last post we’ve had a busy time of it here with the GIS, SAR & Ranger mentoring teams. Wednesday morning included final application exercises (including me, an archaeologist needing assistance) being rescued from a cliff ledge (sorry Indy). By 1230 we were headed to Wadi Rum Protected Area (& World Heritage Site) for a meeting with WRPA management and a couple of the climbing guides. Apparently, it was a1st for them to come together at the park HQ and discuss subjects of mutual interest (SAR). We brought some climbing and rescue gear, which was then donated to WRPA. Should be the beginning of collaboration in this regard, and we hope the Civil Defense (like our Fire Depts.) authorities are included too.

            We proceeded on to Aqaba so the GIS & SAR team could say they saw it (Richard Menicke [from Glacier NP] “had to” take a dip from the beach at the 5-Star Kempinski Hotel; 6 of the 7 also had an Amstel from their great harbor view lounge. It is almost worth the trip itself). Being in Aqaba we availed ourselves to some seafood at Ali Baba’s (thank you again to Fred Woehl for turning us onto this place in March 2011).

            

On Thursday we headed north to Amman. The GIS team met with reps from the Dept. of Antiquity and then we all met with our contact for USAID (Jordan). Many interests from here and all over the globe do research and accumulate information about Petra. Then they horde it; don’t share or publish usually what they do. Really unfortunate, bordering on criminal = any & all permits should have data sharing provision requirements. I’m probably one of the most zealous folks out there re: the need to protect site location information for unpublicized sites. However, that is not the issues here. Bedouins already know where the features (monuments) are. They’ve usually guided the professionals to it. The “data hogs” though are participating in a real “crime against humanity” and their parasitic practices should be terminated with malice (want to know how I really feel?).  Today (Friday) is a holy day of reflection… I can use some of that…

            On a positive note: it looks like there might be representatives from Petra, Wadi Rum and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature attending the Int’l Ranger Federation’s World Congress in Tanzania this November. Since the country is building a Ranger Academy for the region, at Ajloun Reserve, and there is no Ranger Assoc. at present this should be a good experience for ALL…

1st on-scene: Ranger Haroun (aka: The Gear Monkey)

Rescue… this is not a drill...

Yesterday the Rangers at Petra continued with their works providing services for the visitors to this World Heritage Site. Some six of them started an extra four days of SAR skills training with rope and rock work. After the training a real rescue mobilization occurred. A 27 +/- year old visitor from Philadelphia, PA wandered off the trail and got stuck in a spot above the Royal Tombs where he could have gotten seriously injured. Unfortunately, the Rangers were never directly informed by any “reporting party.” 

Instead a shop vendor called Civil Defense (CD) authorities and when they responded into PAP the Rangers were 1^st alerted. By the time the NPS SAR instructors and CD folks geared-up the visitor had been brought to safety by a “Donkey Boy.”  So, the young Rocky Balboa (actually Kaleb) from the new Philadelphia wasn’t rescued by the CD folks from the old Philadelphia (Amman). In debriefing the individual it was learned that he’d lost his head-gear (shade) was dehydrated and couldn’t remember how he got off the trail. He was traveling alone, and I remember seeing him earlier in day at the Treasury and thinking: “we need to keep an eye on that one.” Especially after he didn’t go with the cute young French gals that tried to recruit him as a hiking buddy.

As it turned out the CD responders had multiple incidents as at the same time a motor vehicle accident happened just outside the park, on the winding road from Wadi Musa to Um Sayhoun. Defensive Driving is an unknown concept and you’ll find many drivers weaving in-and-out of traffic (forget lanes) while talking on the cell phone and performing some other activity: coffee? Reading a map, head bowed in prayer, etc. No wonder when Meme visited me last year my 1^st afternoon of driving terrified her (I’d been conditioned by 6+ weeks of “This Could be The Last Time…”).

Todays training went OK, with some belay and rappel work. However, it is obvious that most of the Petra Rangers were not comfortable on-the-line and will need much more practice before they’ll be confident & relaxed.  That will take management support and encouragement from the Chief Ranger, who has been on leave our entire time here. Maybe soon… Inshallah

Making Lemonade

Richard, Ken, Barney & Brian

It is early Sunday morning in Wadi Musa. I got up with first prayers at 3:59 and it provides this time to reflect while so many of those I love are still having Saturday. The seven of us working for Petra this time (3 Park Ranger/Tourism Police Mentoring/ 2 SAR/ 2 GIS) were honored guests at Ranger Atef’s home in Um-Sayhoun on Thursday evening (after he’d completed the basic SAR training). We brought a half-kilo of cookies and a football (soccer) that I brought from Big Five in Santa Fe. He served his traditional “Upside Down” with rice & a few veggies and 3 chickens crowning the mound of food. Of course yogurt and salad (cucumber & tomato) alongside. The food was excellent as usual, but was secondary to being with his family & friends. 

Upper Dana

Returning from Atef’s the van broke down: we nursed it to Wadi Musa, but it lost the clutch near park HQ. The latter part of the evening and early morning were spent coordinating for van pick-up, repair & replacement. Being as Fridays are holy & sacred, with little work performed, it was amazing to see how efficiently things proceeded for us. The van owner arrived from Amman (3+ hours away) shortly after 8AM. He had another van and driver (Mohammed: who had lived in New Jersey and Florida for 2-years) and arranged for our van to get trucked back to Amman for repair while we went on our visit to the Dead Sea. We stopped into the Visitor Center area of the Dana Biosphere Reserve (they sometimes have SAR events/incidents). Then it was on to Al-Tafila and the highway down from the highlands into the rift valley containing the lowest point on earth.

pouring lemonade

We took shelter for the evening at the Swiss owned Movenpick Resort & Spa (I’d checked the newer Holiday Inn, but they didn’t have 7-rooms & cost more for less [having stayed there previously]): it was tough alright- can you say Five Star? Since I’d booked the 7-rooms I was treated to an upgrade, a suite with two of everything but only one of me. In the morning we were treated to an excellent b-fast buffet and in the lobby the best lemonade I’ve ever had (and I love lemonade). It reminded me of a saying from my ol’ master sage Kung Fu-tzu (Confucius): “when you have bitter melon, make sweet melonade.”

Kastel stable

The remainder of Saturday was sweet: visit to Jesus/John Baptism Site, van trade for our vehicle with new clutch by 11, Mt. Nebo Moses Memorial, Madaba mosaics, Karak Krusader Kastel, etc. getting back home a little after dark-30 (half-past 8). We are now ready for another week of mentoring, advanced SAR & GIS training and making lemonade (Inshallah)…

Park Rangers to the Rescue...

Today the US Dept. of the Interior’s International Technical Assistance Program, Jordan Parks Project – USAID, Basic Search & Rescue Training (how is that for a mouthful?) culminated with a training exercise whereby Park Rangers from Petra and Wadi Rum Protected Area searched for, found, and transported to safety and medical attention an overdue hiker. The Rangers all deserve a big THANK YOU for their efforts.

The Rangers near the Byzantine Church were given information from a “Reporting Party” that their friend was a couple of hours overdue from his hike to the High Place of Sacrifice. The potentially missing individual (Sam A. Roberts) is a 60+ year old man with potential health issues (diabetes). He was last seen at the Temenos Gate, wearing a grey Hawaiian shirt. The Rangers sprung into action with an Incident Commander & an Operations Section Chief. Hasty search teams were sent to various locales that a visitor might have gone to in that amount of time. One team (Rangers Haroun, Atef & Hamoud) searched from the Church to the Treasury, to the High Place of Sacrifice and back down in 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, the victim (Mr. SAR, shown above right, or yours truly) was in a cave at the base of the hill & the way up Wadi Al-Farasa towards the High Place. He had fallen twisting and blowing out his knee and was unable to walk. (He was able to communicate with the exercise directors (Barney & Ken) via telephone. When Barney called to inform me that the teams were briefed and deployed, I answered the phone: "Phil's Man Cave, How may I direct your call?" When asked for the "Chief" I informed him that he was unavailable at present getting in touch with his Hunter-Gatherer being; would you like to leave a message?

Ranger Haroun was the 1^st to locate the victim sitting inside the shade of a cave. He quickly ascertained that he was OK with water and food (thanks to Meme’s gift of a Cliff bar) and immediately called his team-mates to join him, which they did within minutes. They were able to get me out of the cave onto a natural stone bench in front of the cave’s opening (still in the shade). 

Within a short while (10 minutes) another team of Rangers arrived with the litter and I was quickly helped into it and transported to an area accessible for an ambulance. We then debriefed the exercise under the shade of the large tree at the Nymphaeum.  It was a job well done!

After lunch, the National Park Service instructors, Ken Phillips & Barney Riley, presented certificates to the participants. This Ranger remains grateful to Rangers everywhere for ALL that they do… 

“Backslider’s Wine” – Petra style

Oleander - Outer Siq *

I admit that there was a strong impulse to tell you that today’s photos show documentation of all the positive improvements that have evolved with our efforts here, and then have no photos. But, I don’t want to short-change you (the reader) or Petra’s efforts. Fact is: there has been a lot of change, just not what we’d consider positive. There is a lot of chaos in the region, and “Local Authority” (governments) are treading lightly due to "Arab Spring." Folks want a bigger part-of-the-economic-action for the future; 70% of the Jordanian population is under 27-years old (more about that at another time). The end result is not beneficial for the visitor experience, or resource protection, at present. Can you say: degradation? 

However, the new VC is to be opened by the end-of-year or early next (Inshallah), and the park is developing a visitor questionnaire/survey (it is our experience these don’t result in much, but provide the appearance of engaged management). Petra Archaeological Park and Wadi Rum Protected Area are working towards sending Rangers to the International Ranger Federation’s World Congress in Tanzania this November. SAR & GIS training is proceeding here at Petra, with some WRPA folks in attendance for SAR. Park management still seeks, and benefits from, our professional observations: over a century of combined experience by the 3 of us. I constantly am reminding myself: one small step at a time…”  Do you remember the Ranger Kits that were brought over and donated to PAP a little over a year ago? They included digital cameras, binoculars and first aid kits. We asked about there present status because none of the field Rangers (or supervisors) have seen them, and were told that HQ folks use them to document compliance issues. Me wonders about follow-up… Folks: have a great one…

Phil Young*

Michael Murphey song “Backslider’s Wine” performed by Gary Stewart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqEkY9qknRY


*- photos by Bruce McKeeman

“The Ugly American” (Revisited)

Great to be back at the “Mother Park.” Of course I’m not referring to Yellowstone (the very 1^st designated National Park in the world), but to Petra Archaeological Park (PAP), Jordan. The Place that put Wadi Musa on-the-map (the local population has exploded from < 1,000 to 30,000 [rivaling Roman times] due to heritage seeking visitors. As you might recall the Dept. of Interior Int’l Tech. Assistance program has been helping PAP with various aspects of managing a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In particular, we’ve been working with the Park Rangers and Tourism Police. We arrived back on Saturday 16 June to help this time with specific specialized training in SAR (Search & Rescue) and GIS (Global Info System). We’d made several “easy fix” suggestions during our last assignment here (the month of Oct. 2011): together we’ll see how those have been going…

One prime directive from the Director of PAP has been to remain advisory and not take compliances action with folks (especially locals). However, we’ve noticed over the past few days that few Rangers have been on duty and yesterday one of us encountered a women collecting pottery sherds from the park: she had ca. half a plastic bag full. When contacted she questioned our authority to do anything about it, and it was explained that we could just follow until we find a Ranger & Tourist Police and report. She stated that she & her husband have been coming here (from Lynchburg, VA & Austin, TX) since 1981 and that “we’ve never done this before…” 

When it was explained that it was diminishing the resource that the park was established to protect she retorted that this place “has an inexhaustible supply” of heritage materials. Reminds me that is what folks used to say at Mesa Verde or Petrified Forest National Parks; now there is much less. Not sure what the history of this couple (part of a group is), but if I were with ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) I’d be giving them special attention.

A new feature has been added for PAP watchers (no, the new visitor center isn’t open yet, but construction is coming along): there are new live web-cams at the Treasury and the entrance to the Siq. These can be seen at: www.petralivecam.com

Venus in Transition

           Transitions are our one constant in life aren’t they? Yesterday was the 70^th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, and tomorrow is the 68^th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion to liberate Europe of Nazi occupation. I’m reminded that on Dec. 5, 1941 my father was student at Glendale High School in southern California, on Dec. 8^th he stood with many at the U. S. Navy Recruiting Station and was at the Battle of Midway. He turned 18 between enlisting and Midway: proud of his country, the Navy, his service to it, and the opportunities that he was afforded. Me too.

           Yesterday I learned that our departure to Petra had again been postponed, but this time by just one week. However, during Father’s Day I’ll have just arrived at PAP and be busy starting our Park Ranger mentoring work there. So, I thought a little pre-Father’s Day post would be in order. I have many thanks to give my parents: well beyond the gift-of-life; many life-lessons too. My dad was born in Littleton, CO (his mother’s maiden name was Littleton) and his formative years were spent a little north of there on a family farm outside Ft. Collins. Being reared with animals probably contributed to his passion for working with dogs, which came about clearly during the 1950’s. Two-weeks after he was discharged from the Navy post World War II he started a career with Pacific Bell Telephone as a splicer. I remember seeing him down in-a-hole one night working a cut-over, but most of his 35+ year career was as an engineer with “Ma Bell.” It was very honest work, and he had a reputation as a “trouble shooter” that could help “fix things” with under-performing units.

           He had an artistic talent for grooming and handling dogs at AKC shows. Both of my parents worked as terrier breeders (primarily Belington) and as professional handlers through much of the 50’s & 60’s. During that time they got to meet Rockefellers and Kennedys (also terrier owners) and many other dog fanciers. In the late 1960’s they became AKC Judges and both remained active as long as their health permitted. When dad retired from the telephone company it permitted him to do even more judging assignments: all over the globe. Gee, is it any wonder that “I flunked retirement right out-of-the-chute?” I too will try to keep on contributing with Incident Management Teams and Park Ranger mentoring as long as I can be productive. Dad, I always try to remember your counsel to have a positive attitude and to invest in the future of this republic. Today is primary election day here in Nuevo Mexico, and indeed I cast my ballot. THANK YOU Dad… and ALL you dads out there (and moms too… couldn’t have done it without you…)    

Dad in 1986 with my cousins Rick & Ken