Petra’s most impressive facade is further on at the top of a steep hill, There are two ways to get up to the top in order to see the Monastery, one is to climb up the 850+ steps, the other way is to hire a Donkey and let it do the work.
The Donkeys (and Mules) are owned by local Bedouin who were very keen to be chosen to carry those in our group who had decided to go up the easy way. Considerable debate and shouting took place during the selection process – the mule owners earn 10JD for a trip up (less for a trip down).
Pat rode a donkey called Jake and set off at a fast pace. I (Paul) was given a Mule – some people are obviously made for mule riding and I am one of them
The track rises relentlessly upward and on the way up, one has to pass
through a number of tunnels,
pass goats coming the other way,
be steadfast when faced by steep steps upwards,
pass Bedouin stalls which take up valuable path width,
pass donkeys walking down to pick up another rider,
until one reaches the top of the Donkey section.
The local Bedouin looked more the part on a donkey than any of us did.
A further climb awaits (no donkeys for this part), then one reaches the top and the Monastery (Ad-Deyr) which is one of the largest monuments (probably used as a tomb) carved into the rock at Petra being 47m wide and 51 m high. When it was originally built probably as a meeting place for religious association (85BC to 110 AD) it had a colonnade around the front.
At the very top is a Bedouin run cafe which sells drinks and snacks. We brought lunch (purchased from a Bedouin stall at the bottom) with us and
sat in a carpeted cave accompanied by a stray cat and dog (both of which liked our yogurt).
Getting down was an easy stroll which took about 1 hour.
By the time we got back to the Treasury, although the temperatures had dropped from highs near 40C
The easiest way to get back to the top of the Siq was to hire a horse and cart (official price 20JD, Pat’s price 15 JD).
Although the day was physically very challenging in the high temperatures, Petra is a fantastic place and we had a wonderful day.
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