Thursday, 31 October 2019
Still Halloween, Still at Sea

So, finally I arrive at Petra.  The city was founded by local Arab tribes about 300 BCE, but the most extensive building and ornamentation was done by the Romans, who turned Petra into a fortified village.  After the fall of the empire, Petra was hidden away for seven centuries until local traders stumbled upon it again.

It is an easy walk from the ticket booth to the entrance to the Siq—a wide path with prehistoric stones and caves lining each side.

The Siq itself is a slightly longer-than-one mile narrow curving path, hidden from the sun by high walls of rock and stone.

As I emerge from the last narrow curve of the high Siq walls, the most famous view of the Treasury Building comes into view, growing larger as I step out into the sunlight.  

   

Although the Treasury facade, built into the side of the rose-colored cliff, is the most complete and magnificent of the ruins, the Petra site is much larger, with mile-long walks in three directions offering views of royal tombs, public buildings, places of worship, and an outdoor theatre.  

After visiting the ruins, we are served a buffet lunch at a hotel just outside the entrance, where all the buses are waiting.  The ride back is quiet and relaxing.  We stop at a different rest area and shop. This time we are greeted by crew members from the Encore who serve a “Caviar in the Desert” surprise, with drinks, crackers, and, yes, caviar.

My bus was the first to leave the ship this morning, but somehow we are the last bus to return at 5:30pm.  As we wait on the line to walk up the gangway and through security, we are treated to a welcome pageant of most all of the crew members singing and dancing joyfully to welcome us back.  Many of the passengers join in the festivities 

Special Commentary It has been a truly incredible day, but I must comment on the one problem that arose in our group because the guide put the personal needs of two passengers above the needs of the group as a whole.

Our guide is supposed to narrate and lead our group of 25 down the entry path and through the Siq, pointing out important geologic and cultural objects.  But there are two passengers with us, who in spite of lots of advance warning, need help just getting down the entry path—the easiest part of the journey. 

 

 I believe that everyone should have the chance for a full visit to the site, but the guide spends so much time with this couple, far behind the rest of the group, that he is nowhere near when we need him as a guide.  A young crew member from the ship is also with us and I suggest that she stay behind to help the couple, so that the guide can spend his time with the rest of us 23 passengers.  But the guide refuses that option.  The rest of us are left alone, waiting around for almost 30 minutes, cooling, or rather heating, our heels, as the day is getting warmer and there is no shade where we are waiting  About half the group, including myself, decide to go off on our own.  Our time here is limited and we would like to see as much as we can.  Fortunately I have my guidebook with me so I am able to make sense of what I see, without the help of the guide.

Let me be quite clear:  this couple should have help negotiating the path, but there are many options they could have chosen — using a hired carriage, for example, or bringing someone of their own to help them, that would not have affected the whole group—and the guide and the crew member should have directed them to this help.  At the end of the day, the climb back up the Siq is very arduous and it was very difficult for me, even using my cane.  I could never have kept up with the group, so I started out on the return a good while before the others, so that I would not hold up anyone.