Petra, Day 2

The second day of Petra was a little more leisurely but still an invigoratingly active day. We got off to a slightly later start at around 10:30 am, which put us at the gates as large busloads of tourists were pouring in. It's common for people to visit Petra in one day by coming over from Israel and then back again. Seems ridiculous to me when you consider the border crossing and 3 hours of round trip driving. And the fact that the entrance fee is almost twice as much for a single day as it is for two days. A lot of the package tour folks also seem to see only a 10th of the site. They work their way slowly through the Siq listening to a sarcastic tour guide make the same jokes day after day and pass through to the Treasury in processional line to exclaim "WOW!" on cue as they catch their first glimpse. But while it was different and perhaps not as serene and mystical as our first day, it was a hoot to join in on a group and laugh at what a different experience they were having to what we'd had just the day before. And it gave us a chance to learn a little bit about the history of the site. But we quickly ditched the masses and continued our climb through the rocks to explore some of the royal tombs and return up the mountain to the Monastery for a second time.

I think the Monastery is my favorite of the two major buildings, and that is primarily because of its location and grand scale. It's about a 40 minute climb up the mountain to a point where you come around a corner, and the Monastery just appears before you in all it's splendor. It's not as elaborately carved as the Treasury but is perhaps twice the size. All impressively carved in one piece out of a solid rock face. Across from the Monastery and up a hill just a bit is a gift/tea shop that I think has the best view of most any tea shop of the world. They have rows and rows of low sofas with comfy pillows and delightful black tea with fresh mint leaves, so we got a couple of tea cups and unpacked our lunch picnic. Paul has accquired an appreciation for the picnic and has been collecting beautifully staged food photos from various travel destinations. I think this will turn out to be one of the best - fresh pitas, tinned sardines, dried apricots and figs, salted almonds, and amber cups of tea set against a backdrop of the Monastery. While we sat enjoying our lunch and view, a couple of the local Bedouin boys bragged that they could reach the top of the Monastery and set off to scramble like mountain goats up the rock face and to the very top of the spire 30 meters from the ground below. It was nervewracking and exhilerating to watch. And not something I'd EVER dare attempt.

The view from the top of the mountain to the surrounding area is again stunning. Not something a photo can even remotely do justice. They've called the best lookout point the "View of the End of the Earth", and it truly is. Not a tree in sight and jagged cliffs all around dropping off to the valley between the mountains of Jordan and Israel and the Dead Sea far out of sight in the distance. We made it back down the mountain and through the park to the entrance again right as they closed at dusk and were welcomed into the city by the haunting call to evening prayer. A delightful dinner of the best tabouleh, falafel, and hommous ever, a good rest, and we were off at daybreak to return to Israel.

And here came the next hiccup. We'd calculated our combined finances to cover everything down to the last Jordanian Dinar thinking, on my failing, that the exit tax was 5 JD per person. Between the two of us we had 11.5 JD remaining when we got to the border with no ATM machine, no willingness to take foreign currency, and a request for 16 JD to cover our exit. Oops. Fortunately, we crossed at just the same time as a good natured Kiwi couple who had enough to get us up to 15.5 JD, and the border agent reluctantly let us pass with the short change. Thank goodness for that since we had a 10 am flight to catch to Tel Aviv and not a lot of time to spare. Especially considering the Israeli airport security. Wow. Before we could even check in for our flight, we had to wait in a long line for security clearance that placed us in front of a grim-faced young woman who wanted to know where we'd been, why we were traveling, and how we knew each other. Then she asked Paul to step out of earshot to wait for her colleague and started in on me with the Spanish Inquisition. Another woman came along to give Paul the same questioning. How did we know each other? How long had we known each other? How did we meet? Why were we traveling? Where had we been? Where had we stayed? Where had we eaten? What did we do for a living? Why were we at the conference? Who had invited us? Why had Harvard decided to send me rather than someone else? Did I have a business card? (no, scientists don't carry business cards) Did I have proof of the conference? Would I show her my presentation? And each time I had to dig for a hotel booking or meeting roster, she started in on another question that would distract me from finding the first answer, and she re-asked the same questions several times trying to find inconsistencies in my story. After a good 15 minutes of drilling us both, the two women conferred on whether our stories were consistent and released us to catch our flight. They apparently do this to ensure we aren't using each other, or no one else is using the two of us to compromise their security. And they're really good at their job. Once the woman questioning me was satisfied, her whole demeanor changed, and I was joking with her that I couldn't have kept anything from her if I'd had anything to hide. Super intimidating!