When on the first day I passed through a narrow canyon, paved and very impressive in itself, and found myself in front of a building carved into the rock from ancient times, I was overwhelmed with such excitement that I was not sure where to look first. That first and most famous monument is called the Treasury.
We didn't want to stay there for long because in the early morning hours, while the sun was not yet in full blast, we wanted to climb the mountain upon which sits the second most famous monument called the Monastery.
Climbing that mountain is challenging and requires a lot of effort, even though the roads are often full of steps carved into the rocks. I succeeded primarily because of the support of my daughter, who was constantly by my side and waited for me while I rested during climbing breaks. We arrived in front of the Monastery in the early morning hours and, just like in front of the Treasury, we were amazed by the beauty of the Monastery carved into the rock.
Donkeys can be hired to take you there to the Monastery, but it seemed to me a more difficult and dangerous option than walking on your own. We stayed in front of the Monastery for a long time, in the cafe right in front, with the most wonderful view ever, we drank cold drinks that refreshed us, and I also had Turkish coffee. The descent was much easier than I expected, and I was only occasionally spooked by donkeys climbing up with people or loads on their backs.
Bedouins live in Petra, they are local residents who hold various jobs related to tourism in Petra. I was surprised when a Bedouin told me that he lives in a cave because I did not know that such a way of life was still practiced. Bedouins are relatively small, not too tall and usually very thin. They are very graceful when riding camels, horses and donkeys. We didn't notice many women, but the men's faces are often extremely handsome with incredibly beautiful, piercing green eyes that I had never seen anywhere before. My blonde-haired and blue-eyed daughter caught the attention of some young Bedouins and one called out to her dad, “Your daughter is driving me crazy. I am looking for a wife, I would marry her."
When Sara hired a horse to ride, another beautiful Bedouin young man repeated his marriage proposal to Sara with the explanation that he already had two wives and was looking for a third one and would like to marry her. My daughter told him that he looks like Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean, and he firmly responded, “I do not look like Jack Sparrow, Jack Sparrow looks like me.” From his photo in the appendix to this article, you can see why.
A beautiful, perhaps twelve-year-old boy sold me a Bedouin scarf for twenty times more money than it cost in the store. I was not sorry because he delighted me so much with his rhetoric and self-confidence that he bought me for life. He put the scarf on my head himself, exactly the way Bedouins wear it.
In the desert near Petra, we slept in a camp with the symbolic name "Seven Wonders Bedouin Camp." The camp is divided into two parts, standard and exclusive. The standard tents are set-up like a real Bedouin tent so that you can get the authentic experience. We spent two nights in the standard and then the owner offered us one night in the exclusive because some members of our party had been to this camp 7 years ago.
The beauty of the camp, the exclusivity and kindness of the staff, as well as the excellent food and campfire musical entertainment, make you feel like you are in a five-star resort, in the middle of the Jordanian desert. I took a picture with the owner of the camp, who is also a local Bedouin.
After spending three nights and two days in Petra, it became clear to me why Petra is included in the Seven Wonders of the World, along with the Chinese Wall, the Colosseum in Rome and others. The beauty and charm of this historical monument of world heritage surpasses everything I have had the opportunity to experience.
I would like to return to the "Seven Wonders Bedouin Camp" and to the beautiful, unreal, enchanting Petra with those wonderful Bedouin people that I fell in love with at first sight.
Kristina
Saturday, August 26th, 2023
Ostao mi komadić srca u Petri u Jordanu
Kad sam prvi dan prošla uskim kanjonom, popločenim i uređenim, samom po sebi vrlo impresivnom i našla se pred u stijenu uklesanom zgradom iz davnina preplavilo me takovo uzbuđenje da nisam bila sigurna kamo bih prije gledala. Taj prvi i najpoznatiji smenik zovu u Petri Treasury (Riznica). Nismo se htjeli tamo dugo zadrzavati jer smo se u ranim jutarnjim satima, dok sunce još nije u punom zamahu, željeli popeti na planinu na kojoj je drugi najpoznatiji spomenik kojeg zovu Monastery (Samostan). Penjanje uz tu planinu je izazovi i zahtjeva poveći napor iako su najčešće putevi prepuni u stijene uklesanih stepenica. Ja sam uspjela ponajprije zbog potpore moje kćeri koja je stalno bila uz mene i čekala na mene dok sam se odmarala u pauzama penjanja. Došli smo pred Samostan u ranim jutarnjim satima i kao i pred Riznicom ostali zadivljeni ljepotom Samostana uklesanog u stijenu.
Do Samostana se mogu unajmiti magarci koji vas odvezu do tamo, ali meni se to činila teža i opasnija opcija od vlastitih nogu. Ostali smo pred Samostanom dugo, u kafiću odmah ispred, sa najdivnijim pogledom ikada popili smo hladna pića koja su nas osvježila, a ja još i Tursku kavu. Spuštanje je bilo puno lakše nego sam očekivala i samo su me povremeno prestrašili magarci koji su se penjali sa ljudima ili teretom na leđima prema gore.
U Petri žive beduini, oni su lokalno stanovništvo koji drže razne poslove vezane uz turizam u Petri. Iznenadila sam se kad mi je jedan beduin rekao da živi u pećini jer nisam znala da se takav način života još upražnjava. Beduini su relativno sitni, nisu previsoki i najčešće su vrlo mršavi. Jako su graciozni kad jašu na devama, konjima i magarcima. Nismo primjetli puno žena, ali lica muškaraca su često izuzetno zgodna sa nestvarno lijepom, zelenom bojom očiju koje do tada nisam nikada, ngdje vidjela. Moja je plavokosa i plavooka kćer privukla pažnju nekih mladih beduina i jedan je doviknuo njezinom tati “Tvoja me kćer izluđuje. Tražim ženu, ja bih nju oženio.” Kad je Sara unajmila konja za jahanje, jedan predivni beduinski mladić, ponovio bračnu ponudu Sari uz obrazloženje da ima već dvije žene i da traži treću i rado bi nju oženio. Moja kći mu je rekla da izgleda kao Jack Sparrow iz Pirata s Kariba, a on je odlučno odgovorio: "Ja ne izgledam kao Jack Sparrow, Jack Sparrow izgleda kao ja." Iz njegove fotografije u prilogu ovog članka možete vidjeti zašto.
Jedan mi je predivni možda dvanaestogodisnji dječak prodao beduinsku maramu za dvadesetak puta više novaca nego što je koštala u trgovini. Nije mi bilo žao jer me toliko oduševio svojom retrikom I sampouzdanjem da me kupio za život. Maramu mi je sam stavio na glavu baš na način kako to nose beduini.
U pustinji pored Petre spavali smo u kampu simboličnog naziva “7 čuda beduinski kamp.” Kamp je podijeljen u dva dijela, standardni i eksluzivni. Standardni šatori postavljeni su poput pravog beduinskog šatora kako biste imali autentičan doživljaj. Proveli smo dvije noći u standardnom, a onda nam je vlasnik ponudio jednu noć u ekskluzivnom jer su neki članovi našeg društva bili u ovom kampu prije 7 godina. Ljepota kampa, ekskluzivnost i ljubaznost osoblja kao i izvrsna hrana, čine da se osjećate kao da ste u resortu sa pet zvjezdica, a usred Jordanske pustinje. Slikala sam se sa vlasnikom kampa koji je također lokalni beduin.
Nakon tri noći i dva dana provedenih u Petri postalo mi je jasno zašto je Petra uvrštena u sedam svjetskih čuda, uz Kinseki zid, koloseum u Rimu i druge. Ljepota i šarm tog histrrijskog spomenika svjetske baštine nadmašuje sve što sam do sada imala priliku iskusiti I doživjeti.
Voljela bi se vratiti u “7 čuda beduinski kamp” i u predivnu, nestvarnu, očaravajuću Petru sa tim predivnim beduinskim narodom u koje sam se na prvi pogled zaljubila.
Kristina
Subota, 26. kolovoza 2023.
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