Across the Negev to Ancient Petra

by Rod Lopez-Fabrega

Imagine camel caravans, one long chain of undulating movement against the stark expanse of sand, ochre hills and endless blue sky of the Negev desert as they move ponderously along the Jordan Valley separating modern day Israel from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In your imagination, Bedouin tribesmen, muffled against the wind, lead lumbering beasts loaded with heavy cargoes of silks from China, spices from India and perfumes from Arabia.

So it was for thousands of years as commerce moved from north and south, with the riches of the Orient toward the hidden metropolis of Petra, a major stop for caravans headed to and from Jerusalem, Baghdad, Gaza and Alexandria.

Thanks to the cinematic exploits of Indiana Jones, Petra, the rose-red city literally carved out of limestone mountains, has become a spectacular tourism destination in this part of the Middle East. It is no exaggeration to place this stunning site with the Greek Parthenon, Machu Picchu in Peru and the temples of Egypt among mankind's most spectacular architectural legacies.

There is a choice of routes to Petra from the U.S.--it is possible to fly directly to Amman, Jordan, and then drive south to Petra. But, for most Americans, the most interesting route by far, is to combine the trip with a visit to Israel, a country where every upturned stone uncovers thousands of years of human history. Most Americans visit the holiest shrines of Judaism, Christianity, and the Moslem faith concentrated in the north. Southern Israel is still relatively unexplored by Americans, though well known to Europeans as a winter escape of sunny beaches in the resort town of Eilat and luxurious, sybaritic health spas on the shores of the Dead Sea. There is so much more. The southern half of the tiny country of Israel forms a funnel with its tip--a shoreline perhaps ten miles in length--touching the Red Sea at Eilat. The funnel is defined by the Egyptian border to one side and the Jordanian border to the other.

These days, you can make the trip in a comfortable, air-conditioned bus that carries you from Jerusalem to Eilat at the very southern tip of� Israel and from there, to the nearby border crossing into Jordan, and up the Jordanian border along the Dead Sea to Petra--all in just a few hours drive.

On the way south from Jerusalem, the adventurous traveler will probably stop first at Qumran, just off the highway that parallels the Dead Sea's western shore. Eleven caves on a mountainside just behind the ruins of an Essene settlement on that site yielded one of modern archaeology's great finds: the Dead Sea Scrolls. Compiled around 200 A.D. and discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd, these marvelously preserved parchments are still under study, confirming modern-day versions of the Biblical Old Testament.

Another stop not to be missed is Masada, King Herod's almost impregnable mountain-top fortress. In 73 A.D., after a three year siege by Rome's Tenth Legion, the fortress finally was taken--but not before its 960 defenders, including women and children, died by their own hands rather than submit to the yoke of Rome. Forbidden by Judaism to commit suicide, each man put his own family to death and was himself killed by the next defender--to the last man, presumably impaled by Roman arrows. Masada has become the symbol of Israel's spirit of survival--so much so that young officer candidates to the Israeli army are taken to this remote mountain citadel for their graduation ceremonies as they are inducted into the active military.� Most days, however, modern cable cars carry visitors hundreds of feet from the desert floor to the top of the citadel, otherwise a perilous climb up a narrow trail. The remains of King Herod's palace--it was his Camp David before its tragic end--may still be seen and also his remarkable sauna, with raised floor to conduct heat.

A must for an overnight stop is at Ein-Boqeq at the southern end of the Dead Sea. For accommodations, the undisputed Queen is the Hyatt Regency Dead Sea Resort and Spa. All stops have been pulled out in the design and furnishings of this super-luxurious spa. In the European tradition, all sorts of passive treatments are available, married to the American approach of "use it or lose it." This includes mud wraps and mineral therapies, massages, beauty treatments, weight rooms, aerobic studios, separate nude sunbathing decks for men and women on the roof, and even in-house plastic surgery facilities for total make-overs. Add to this, an impressive selection of restaurants and night time entertainment and complete sybaritic escape is there for the most demanding visitor. An alternative upscale accommodation is the almost equally luxurious Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza.

Other points of interest for the adventurer are: the Hai-Bar Yotvata Nature Reserve where flocks of wild ostriches, herds of Arabian Oryx, and other desert wild life may be viewed safari-park-style; Timna Valley, a fascinating stop for the historian, where the real King Solomon's mines were located and where, thousands of years before the great King, Egyptians mined copper and malachite. Remains of their smelters and workers' camps are still visible as well as monumental rock formations known as King Solomon's pillars. 

Continuing to the south, an unforgettable lunch stop might be at the Mamshet Camel Ranch where visitors seated on cushions will have a genuine Bedouin meal under a typical camel- and sheep-wool tent. The lunch is complete with traditional Bedouin hospitality, which includes ceremonial tea, specially hand-ground coffee for guests only and shared trays of authentic Bedouin cooking. Guests eat with their hands, Bedouin-style--but it's acceptable to use a Pita-like bread as a spoon. The experience is topped off for each guest by a camel-back ride inside one of the ranch's corrals. Overnight guests are welcomed, and extended camel safaris can be arranged, with tented overnights under desert stars.

Eilat, located at the southernmost tip of Israel on the shores of� the Red Sea, is a swinging resort. Charter flights fly in loaded with beach-starved Europeans escaping Europe's cold winters, and the town is filled with hotels ranging from five-star to no-star and a permanent population that has grown to 40,000 from Eilat's modern-day start as a small port village in 1949. For those with access to Florida's beaches and the Caribbean, it is no big deal, and for most Americans, it must be said that Eilat's main attraction is its proximity to both the Egyptian border-crossing into the Sinai and the Jordanian border crossing that leads to Petra.

The crossing from Israel into Jordan is a reminder that these countries were once at war. Zig-zag car lanes and formidable fences still remain, but this is contrasted with smiling Jordanian border guards and courteous inspectors who stamp your passport. Still, there can be delays, and it is best to travel as part of an Israeli� tour operation� that will facilitate everything. The fact remains that Jordan is Israel's best friend among the Arab countries, and that Jordanians are eager for American tourism. At the border, you will leave your Israeli bus and transfer to a comfortable and well-appointed Jordanian tour bus with an excellent Jordanian guide.

Once in Jordan, the two-and-one-half-hour drive north ends in the picturesque city of Wadi Mousa and the nearby ultra-modern reception center to the hidden city of Petra. There, you have a choice of riding horseback or walking the quarter-mile or so down the wadi, a narrow, winding gorge called the Bab-as-Siq,� to the entrance to Petra itself. The horseback ride is an adventure, as taxi-cab-like queues of Bedouin horsemen� jockey into position to take on a tourist for each horse. At the end of the ride, everyone walks down the Siq and into the city.

It is a walk back in time to a period spanning from the fourth century B.C. to the first century A.D., when the Nabataean Kingdom occupied Petra--known in ancient times as Requem, Sela or The Rock--and carved extraordinary monuments, temples, mausoleums, baths, streets and water aqueducts right out of the solid rock. Among the most amazing engineering achievements of the Nabataeans were the water collection and distributions systems that were constructed to divert desert flash floods and store and conserve water for a population that at one time was close to 20,000. Amazingly well-preserved by the dry atmospheric conditions, the intricate carvings are testament to the wealth of this city. Once a major stop on the commercial caravan routes, the Nabbateans offered shelter and protection to passing caravans. It is rumored that the fees charged for "protection" were offers not to be resisted by knowledgeable traveling merchants.

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