Wadi Musa (Petra}
First, I’ll get this out of the way. Petra is AMAZING. The walk down, the siq, the first reveal of the Treasury in the early morning sun. Continuing through to the tombs and walking among the colonnaded streets. Gobsmacking, awe inspiring, stunning. You will not be disappointed.
If you are just going in to see the Treasury a stroller is possible. It can even be done with a standard umbrella. It will be work. Part of the route is rough gravel. Other parts are Roman era stone road with a couple of millennia of wear and tear. In a stroller you can go a little beyond the Treasury but it soon turns into sand and tough becomes almost impossible. Though if you have one of the souped up all terrain jobs with shock absorbers and gigantic wheels you could probably even make it all the way through the valley.
We used a carrier. Our carrier, a Boba, goes up to forty pounds(~18kg). There are some that go up to sixty-five(~30kg) and, if we were continuing this sort of travel, I would invest in one as Little Bit is already over thirty pounds. The carrier allowed us to travel up and down into the tombs, the nooks, and the crannies. Note: bathrooms are spaced out for adult bladders, not child sized ones. Be ready to improvise.
The mornings and evenings are quite nice, even in August. The afternoons, are hot with a dry wind that leaves you constantly thirsty. Calculate a couple of liters of water per person. We brought in three liters and bought another liter and a half plus soda water on site. And we only went for half days.
Whole day or half day? There is no in and out. Once you leave the site there is no reentry. Due to this we decided to do a two day ticket, which is only 5JD as of in late summer 2019. We got there half an hour after opening and stayed until somewhere between one and two. We grabbed a bite after at one of the restaurants near the entrance. LB is mostly off naps but the amount of scrambling, climbing, and plain walking wore her right out. That plus a full belly and she passed out by the afternoon. If time or money constraints mean two days is too much pack a lightweight cloth to lay the kids on or picnic, in the shade, during the hottest part of the day.
If you decide to ride do it on the way out and negotiate the price before you get in. It is cheaper to negotiate in the morning but stick by it. The animal handlers are known to be quite prompt and honest- once a deal is struck. So if you’ve promised your business to someone don’t just take the first donkey or cart you see on the way out or decide to blow them off and stay longer. Their entire salary is based on what thay can negotiate from tourists. This includes the horse ride that is “included” in the ticket. There is a sign in front of you aa you walk down on a wall to the left just after ticket taker that lists the standard rates for rides. Unfortunately, the animals at Petra are notoriously ill used. We opted out and walked the entire time both days. Which is also, in part, why we didn’t do the Monastery.
The Monastery is bigger, higher, and overall more majestic than the Treasury. So people say. There are two ways to get there. Go through the siq, walk through the city, then climb several hundred steps. This can also be done by donkey, for a negotiable fee. Which is how I would suggest you do it if you choose to go this route with littles. LB, like a lot of threeteen year olds, is stubborn and impetuous. After the incident at the hotel pool we decided we just were not up to keeping reign on her during that particular hike.
Once you get to Wadi Musa you’ll hear a lot about the “back door” to Petra and the Monastery. This is an easier hike through the back entry gate. Tickets are needed and cannot be bought at this entrance. Though this 2.5k/1.6 mile trail is not as arduous as the climb up the stairs, it has sharp drop offs that may make it unsuitable for any small child unused to hiking in the high hills or who, like LB, is reveling in their obstinacy.
Petra by Night
We went to Petra Wednesday and Thursday and did Petra by Night Thursday. You do NOT want to see Petra the first time at night. We noticed that there were a lot more people on Thursday. This may be because the weekend in Jordan is Friday/Saturday and in surrounding countries is Thursday/Friday. So try to do Petra by Night on the Monday or Wednesday. The fewer people the better on this one.
Some blogs complained about being unable to see. The ground is uneven but I had no problem seeing except being blinded by other people’s flashes and torches. And I wear glasses. If you do bring a flashlight, or use the one on your phone, please use a red filter. Something I haven’t seen mentioned is that the light of the candles attract ants. Big ants. Large ants. Ants the size of a section of my finger and I have big hands. They, thankfully, stayed focused on the lit bags but I found them to be distracting.👀
As usual, give yourself extra time when traveling with a little. LB was everywhere and it took us, at least, forty-five minutes to get to the Treasury. That said, my favorite part of this was the walk down. Especially the intervals when it was just my family. The area is stunning, the sky huge and filled with stars. It was amazing to walk in the dark in (relative) silence with the place to ourselves.
The show itself was mostly meh, in my humble opinion. The lone musician was adequate, though we did miss the first few minutes of the recital. The atmosphere they were going for, a bit new age sanctuary, is actually one that appeals to me. But it didn’t seem to fit. One, you are sharing this with easily a hundred or more other people. The guides shush folks but there is pretty much always a low rumble of voices in the background.
But, more, Petra isn’t a temple complex. It was a living, vibrant, city that is still very much a mystery. Stories exploring those mysteries would have been much more welcome than the tale told. While I enjoyed the experience, overall, it’s not something I would highly recommend. And, if your kid is like mine, they’ll sleep through the whole thing.
I would, however, like to give props to the maintenance workers that manage to cleanse the place of feces and the detritus of the other filthy animals (we tourists) to present an immaculate experience in just two hours.
In Wadi Musa we stayed at the Ata Ali hotel.
The good
It has a decent location near the center of town, close to several restaurants, cafes, and convenience stores. Free parking in front of the hotel. The room was a nice size and the spacious bathroom had both a bathtub and a bidet.
There is daily housekeeping and a modest breakfast buffet is included in the rate. The breakfast is served on the rooftop with wonderful views of the city, especially at sunset. The helpful staff can also order in for meals or picnic boxes for Petra.
The bad
No elevator. It’s unfinished in places. The stairs up to the rooftop look to be made of plywood and LB cut (minor) her finger on the stair rail. In the bathroom there was an open section with loose wires that LB was, fortunately, uninterested in.
We didn’t have any spectacular meals in Wadi Musa. Because of this I am going to forego my usual the good, the bad, the ugly format. Nothing was bad, nothing particularly good. The best of the lot was Al-Wadi Restaurant where we had the mansaf. Ours was made with lamb and it was both tender and tasty. The next night we ate at Rainbow Restaurant (aka Rainbow Snacks). We both had the chicken shawarma and both felt it to be bland. Like a lot of small restaurants in Jordan, they have no toilet. Plan accordingly
At Al Mehbash Restaurant SM had the falafel sandwich and I had the kibbeh bi laban. It was okay. I was erroneously expecting something more along the lines of the kofta bi tahini we had at the Dead Sea Spa hotel which was quite yummy and may have influenced my appreciation. After our first day at Petra we had a mix of mezze at the Red Cave Restaurant: hummus, moutabel, and fries for LB. Again, it was alright. Even the ice cream we indulged in at Mövenpick wasn’t particularly memorable. You would think a frozen treat after hours in the summer desert sun would make an impression. But, not really.
Though as we moved south from Madaba even the hummus (and I love me some hummus) and moutabel (which I couldn’t get enough of in Madaba) were less appealing to me Wadi Musa was an outlier. Jordanian food is amazing and deserves its own post.