Little Petra
Siq Al-Barid, more commonly known as Little Petra, is about ten minutes drive from Petra. The signage isn’t fabulous and we only found it because we spotted a tourist minivan and figured they were heading that way, too. Though I am sure we would have found it on our own, eventually.
Like Petra to get to the site through a narrow canyon, or siq, which opens up to buildings beautifully sculpted out of the red sandstone. Don’t even bother with a stroller here. The floor of the valley is thick with soft sand that even an SUV of a stroller might struggle with. In its time it was probably a wealthy suburb of Petra. One of the more important features of Little Petra is the remnants of Nabataean painted frescoes on plaster to be found in the caves.
Little Petra is well worth a morning of scrambling about. Even, and I would argue especially, with a little. Because it is so narrow you can stick mostly to the shade. And because it is so small and contained you can let littles have highly controlled reign. The highlight is a staircase at the end of the valley that leads to another of the “best views in the world”. We did not climb the staircase with our little jumper, so cannot attest to the veracity of the claim.
You’ll likely spend no more than an hour here. We had the site mostly to ourselves. There were only two tourists in the van we followed in, so it was them along with a handful of Bedouin merchants. It was nice to let Little Bit run around before we locked her in her car seat for the drive to Wadi Rum.
Note: Also near Petra is the round hut Neolithic village of Beidha. It is over eight thousand years old making it one of the first human settlements in history. We didn’t make it here but if there is ever a next time we surely will.
On to Wadi Rum
I like deserts. I mean, I wouldn’t want to live in one, but I find arid climates both appealing and fascinating. Maybe because I grew up in a swamp. I’ve been to the American Southwest, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, the Argentinian Andes, even Mui Ne in Vietnam. So, when I read about Wadi Rum I was in.
On the UNESCO World Heritage list Wadi Rum (Valley of the Moon) is less a sandy and more of a mountain desert, though there is still a LOT of sand. Sands that are so red it’s the current Hollywood spot of choice to create the fictional reality of Mars, the Red Planet. Made famous by “Lawrence of Arabia” the area is known for its soft red peaks which create incredible sunsets. That plus the amazing natural arches, mountains, star filled nights and prehistoric rock engravings make it a must do experience.
We had this plan, more of a fantasy, where we would arrive and be shown to our tent. Having spent a bit of time traveling amongst the mad drivers of Jordan we would relax for a bit before surprising our 3yo with a sunset tour, preferably by camel. We’d be able to see the desert ablaze under the setting sun before returning to a Bedouin feast under the stars.
Alas, this was not to be. Because we booked here.
We got our Jordan passes stamped at the visitor’s center and drove into town. We didn’t call ahead because our booking stated that check-in was open throughout the day. The place had excellent reviews and we were looking forward to a glorious and memorable experience. It was certainly memorable.
The town reminded me of a Native American reservation as depicted in a gritty, Hollywood documentary. A proud people, now a minority in lands they once dominated, fiercely holding on to their language and culture under the onslaught of grinding poverty. You can drive around the whole town in five minutes. After fifteen minutes of driving around which involved manouvering in a Yaris over speed bumps designed to impede four wheel drive vehicles we spotted someone to ask for directions.
He calls a guy who calls a guy who shows up to direct us the two minute walk to the home of the owner of the hotel we booked. There we are greeted by three generations of adult women and a smattering of children, including the cutest wee infant sleeping peacefully on the sofa. We are offered hospitality while yet more phones come out. The youngest of the women speaks English and tries to answer our questions but it is clear there is some confusion.
Yet another man shows up, this one causing the women to gather the children and abscond with them to the back. The latest man turns out to be a guide sent by the owner of both the hotel and the home offering a four wheel drive tour of four hours at 50JD a head, with our 3yo thrown in for free. Having already spent the morning at Little Petra and been in the car for almost two hours a four hour driving tour did not appeal. All we wanted was to rest for a bit, maybe walk around a little.
So he offered us a two hour tour. Again, we decline. Back on the phone. This is, like, the third time we’ve spoken to the owner. He explains that we must choose a tour because, unless we have a 4WD of our own, a tour, at 50JD each, was the only way to get to the campsite. The room we booked went for 15JD, so the ride to get to the room would have been exponentially more than the room itself!
We really felt thrown for a loop. A hundred dinar loop. If any of this had been made clear before or during the booking process it would have been fine. We actually wanted to do a tour, though we were thinking camels rather than 4WD. But it wasn’t made clear which left us feeling rather taken advantage of. This is not a feeling you want to have about someone about to take you deep into the desert. So we decided to forfeit the booking and head into Aqaba a day early.
The gentleman was not pleased to hear this. There was no yelling or screaming but the young man was visibly upset. I started to get the inkling that the women folk didn’t disappear into the back because a man appeared, but because this man appeared. It is the only time in all of our Jordan trip where I felt uncomfortable about my safety.
Fortunately, nothing untoward happened. We were lucky in that we drove in and thus were able to drive out, escaping the situation and heading into Aqaba. If we’d come by bus or been dropped off we would have had fewer options. To say the whole thing was disappointing is a profound understatement. Wadi Rum is routinely listed as one of the highlights of any Jordan trip. And I love deserts! I was really looking forward to this and am still rather crushed it didn’t work out.