The Negev and tel Aviv

The taxi drive to the Jordanian border crossing with Israel at Acqaba is like something out of an Arabian night’s fairy tale, with spectacular mountains and Bedouin tents along the way. The first Israeli conference for Conservation Science is being held in the small university town of Sde Boker in the Negev, so we walk across the border to Eilat and get our first view of the Red sea. We have a two-hour drive through the Israeli side of the same stony desert and mountains. Sde Boker is near an ancient Nabatean Incense Route way station called Advat (a Unesco World Heritage Site), that connected the Arabian Peninsula to Petra and eventually Gaza (see map).  It is a spectacular site with views across the desert in all directions. The Romans also occupied the site too and built a wonderfully preserved bathhouse.  The Byzantines later built a small town there and grew grapes, adapting the ancient cisterns built by the Nabateans. Apparently Nabatean means ‘cistern diggers’ in Aramaic - the language of the Nabateans. It is so dry here that my lips crack and I am continually putting on lip balm! The weather is beautiful -cool yet sunny as it has been since I arrived in Jordan.

Our last day in the region is spent in Tel Aviv and we have the chance to explore the old port city of Jaffa or Yafo as it is now known. It is lovely to see the sparkly blue waters of the Mediterranean after our time in the desert. The old twisting streets of Jaffa are delightful and we have a delicious lunch by the sea – without saying anything the waiter brings twenty-two delicious dishes of mezze and warm bread – all vegetarian – it is heaven! It has been an amazing trip in the Middle-east and I’m glad I took the opportunity despite the fear of war and terrorism. Now the Washington chapter of our lives begins – stay tuned

The pink city of Petra

On the way to Petra we stop at an eerie desolate Unesco World Heritage site called Umm ar Rasas, famous for the mosaics of the ruined byzantine church of St Stephen. This spot is mentioned in the bible, where it was known as Mephaath, and the mosaic is a plan of the ancient cities of the region. It is superb and alongside the cities it depicts many of the animals and fish that lived in the Jordan river. We then join the desert highway and the landscape changes from the green and fertile to desolate and brown. It is a remarkable and reasonably abrupt transition, although the desert is not entirely flat – strange shaped hills dot the landscape. The roads are very good and we reach Petra in around two hours. The approach to Petra is spectacular as the desert gives way to mountains and then to the red rocks of the Petra mountain range and the deep valley known as Wadi Musa, named after Moses, who roamed around here too. Our hotel is right next to the entrance to Petra and very comfortable. I am so excited and the walk through the narrow siq is very spectacular – the colours of the rock are almost unbelievable. The atmosphere is ruined somewhat though by the donkeys, carriages and annoying people trying to sell you things. Tourism is still alive at Petra! But despite this, the first view of the pink Treasury building is breath-taking. It is so delicate -carved out of the surrounding rock – a truly amazing sight.

Full of enthusiasm we immediately climb the steps to the High Place of Sacrifice – a daunting and rather scary task for me with many precipitous drops, but luckily my love of ruins outweighs my fear of heights so I keep going, huffing and puffing all the way.  You can go up on a donkey but I think that would be even more terrifying! Soon there is no-one else on the path – most tourists perhaps wisely stay down at the bottom of the valley. At the top it is even more frightening with no guard rails but the views are spectacular. We hike along ridges and then start climbing down a secret way with more precipitous steps – passing beautiful empty tombs and monuments. It is gorgeous but I am starting flag now after four hours and the walk back to the hotel seems to take forever. Luckily our hotel has this ancient Nabatean (the name of the people who built Petra) cave that has been turned into a bar and after a few soothing cocktails I begin to revive.

The next day, although a bit stiff and sore, we awake at dawn to tackle Petra again. This time we have the siq all to ourselves – a pretty amazing experience - and the morning light on the Treasury building is completely different to the day before. Like Uluru, the stone changes colour depending on the light. Today after exploring the Royal Tombs, we tackle the stiff climb to the monastery – a mere 800 steps! An endearing little dog is our only guide up the mountain which, although physically demanding, I find less terrifying than the day before – it is less precipitous and there is less chance of falling down a ravine in my view. The Monastery is a building very similar to the Treasury but bigger and we have a lovely cup of mint tea from the café at the top of the mountain, feeling very intrepid and adventurous. Petra is an incredible place, surpassing my expectations and I am sorry to leave.