Journey to Jordan VII: (October 16th, 2007) Wonders of Wadi Farasa

After breakfast at our camp, Mark and I met Ra’ed at the Petra gate Tuesday morning for day two of Petra.  Today we ventured off the main pathway down the Siq and circled around by Al Madras.  This is about a two hour trek that is not terribly scenic, but does have its attractions.  Although the landscape is harsh, there are Bedouin huts and the residents were out tending to their flocks of goats.  Most of the time we simply exchanged greetings, but one Bedouin was playing a flute that leant a calming serenity.

Our obscure entrance (we didn’t see a single other tourist on the trail) led to being greeted by a big white butt when we got back to Petra and approached the High Place of Sacrifice.  A lady was crouching behind some bushes which concealed her from others at the same elevation, but not from those of us several hundred feet higher!  The High Place of Sacrifice is an altar where animal sacrifices were made to the Nabatean gods.  It is a beautiful spot that really does sit way up high - and looks pretty much straight down.  The perch offers good views into Petra and is another high volume destination here:  the usual access is via some carved steps which begin behind the Theater.

Desolate hike to Wadi Farasa.  Please note the bright white speck at the highest point à we’ll visit there tomorrow!

At the High Place we ran into a pair of Russian ladies whom Ra’ed had started conversing with just inside the gate.  After asking our permission, Ra’ed asked the ladies to join us and so they tagged along.  Wasn’t terribly professional to extend this invitation, but it was amusing to watch Ra’ed trying to impress them and we really didn’t mind (they didn’t speak English, though Ra’ed expressed they could understand some off what we were saying).

So who paid for Ra’ed’s service???

From here we started back down into Petra through what became one of my favorite parts – Wadi Farasa.  Wadi Farasa is a gorgeous valley that descends steeply along carved steps.  Of course the sides of the canyon are replete with more facades, and you slowly near the splendid Roman Soldier Tomb at the bottom of the wadi.  There is also a substantial Roman cistern constructed by this tomb, and though much of it has been reduced to rubble the scale is impressive.

The multitude of facades in Wadi Farasa

Even if you don’t come to Wadi Farasa by the long route through Al Madras, definitely devote some time to exploring this magnificent spot!

From the bottom of the wadi it is still a little bit of a hike back to City Center.  Along the way is a stretch where you literally walk over a field of broken pottery shards.  Ra’ed told us that this was Petra’s ‘garbage dump’, but I was amazed they steer people to trample over something so ancient.  We made it back to City Center and ate lunch at the same buffet joint as yesterday (our Russian ladies broke ranks when we sat down to eat).  We wandered about a bit after lunch and then back out through the Siq to get to the Petra Moon offices before their office closed.

Another failure to communicate mandated this visit to the office.  We needed to know where to go to get our horses for the ride to Jebel Haroun the next morning and get the tickets we had paid for to get in to the Petra by Night show Wednesday evening.  As it turns out we spoke with Ramzi, who was the guy I had e-mailed with to set up our Petra tours and he would accompany us on horseback the next morning.  We were also given our tickets for tomorrow night’s show, so business was wrapped up expediently.

Tomb of the Roman Soldiers in Wadi Farasa

Said goodbyes to Ra’ed and thanked him for his guidance and information.  I highly recommend a guide service because there are so many hidden gems in Petra and so much history to absorb.  Without Ra’ed we would have missed so much!

Back at camp we relaxed and played cards since we couldn’t converse with our French compatriots.  Tomorrow was going to be a big day so turning in early was a good deal.  We crawled into our bedding sprawled upon the sand and I bid Mark “good night, sleep tight.  Don’t let the Bedouins bite.”

Another Spite & Malice grudge match in our Bedouin tent