Adventure Travel in the Middle East

Petra: Lost but not forgotten

June 10, 2010 By Jillian

Although we had been tipped off not to arrive until the afternoon when the tour groups depart, we were shocked at the sheer number of visitors. With no exaggeration there were thousands of people exploring Petra when we arrived mid-day, and the noise bouncing off the canyon walls in front of the treasury sounded more like a stock market trading floor than an ancient archaeological site. After being abandoned by the free tour guide, who began by telling us the tour was not obligatory and we could leave at anytime, we headed off straight to the Monastery, a 40 minute hike at the far end of the site. By no means a secret place, the Monastery was virtually deserted late in the afternoon and for long stretches of time we had the place nearly to ourselves. It was magnificent and the views from the surrounding cliffs were breathtaking.

An important commercial hub of the ancient world, the building of Petra was influenced by nearly every civilization along the Mediterranean, so wandering through what remains of the city is like a walk through history. Tombs built in Hellenistic, Egyptian and Mesopotamian style dominate the route through Petra, but there’s also an amazing Byzantine mosaic in the Church and some pretty interesting Assyrian architecture. Hundreds of tombs remain carved into the sandstone, each doorway leading to a chiseled out burial chamber or banquet room. Over time new trade routes were discovered cutting Petra out of the caravan route and ultimately much of history as well. It wasn’t until its rediscovery in 1812 that it became re-known to someone other than a Bedouin…

Although nothing remains inside the tombs today, local Bedouins lived in many of the caves until the 1980s. Thrown out of the site by the government and moved into modern apartment complexes outside the site, tension remains between the Bedouins and the Jordanian government. To appease the Bedouins, the government has looked the other way at the numerous souvenir shops, food stalls and wandering vendors scattered throughout Petra. Without a doubt the market like atmosphere near the amphitheater takes away from the grandeur of the place. Unfortunately we saw children selling jewelry and goods throughout the site in numbers that we haven’t seen since Central America.

The most photographed site in Petra is the Treasury, which is actually a tomb that never contained any treasure. An urn carved into the upper facade was once believed to contain the treasures of an Egyptian Pharaoh, which needless to say caused any number of objects to be thrown at the facade in an effort to break the urn and spill its treasures. The only treasure ever found in the Treasury though, would of course be the Holy Grail rescued by Indiana Jones. The entrance into the Treasury was blocked off so unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to follow in Harrison Ford’s famous footsteps.

IF YOU GO: We purchased the 2 day pass allowing us to sleep-in and visit Petra refreshed and at our leisure rather than at 6am. The tour groups arrive at 8 and start to leave around 3pm, by 5pm we were virtually alone and by 7 pm had the Treasury all to ourselves. Petra technically doesn’t “close” but the guards will ask you to leave if they see you after sunset, especially if there is a ‘Petra by Night’ show that evening. Staying through sunset we saw the set-up of ‘Petra by night’ and walked out of the Siq by candle light. If you plan to hike to the Monastery, which we’d recommend, go in the afternoon when there is more shade and fewer people. Bring plenty of water- we were able to fill up our bottles in the restaurant. FYI, entry prices are scheduled to increase dramatically in November 2010.

See more Petra photos here.

Leaving Africa

June 8, 2010 By Jillian

Ever since arriving in Ethiopia we’ve been excited to get out of Africa, not that its been bad at all mind you, its just that Africa is difficult. Emotionally, physically and mentally Africa can take it all out of you without you even realizing it. It’s been a pleasure sharing the adventure with others along with way, but frankly we were just exhausted of being in the developing world. I know how that sounds and I realize how lucky we are to be able to leave those difficult situations, but it’s the truth, it was hard. We needed a long break, badly.

Needless to say it wasn’t with heavy hearts that we took the ferry to Jordan. In fact it was with shear excitement for the rest of the journey and perhaps even some anxiety at moving on to another continent that we boarded the much delayed boat. As they ferry motored away from Nuweiba and the Sinai Peninsula at sunset we sat comfortably in the air conditioned lounge playing cards and swapping stories neither of us looking back for one last glimpse.

A week and a half after leaving Africa for good I’m recovered and those dangerous rose colored glasses seem to be on my eyes. Of course we had an amazing time in Africa and I don’t regret going for one minute. More than South America though Africa tested us. It was physically challenging (Mt. Kilimanjaro), emotionally challenging (Ethiopia) and sometimes just downright frustrating (everywhere else), but it was an experience I’d never trade and will never regret.

Our ferry to Jordan left Egypt nearly 5 hours late and by the time we arrived in Aqaba it was well after the last bus to Petra. Some travelers might get annoyed or even angry, but Danny and I just looked at each other and shrugged much as we’ve been doing since arriving on the continent. It was our last chance to say the three letters which have been uttered nearly every day since December: “TIA, this is Africa.”

IF YOU GO: We took the “fast” ferry from Nuweiba to Aqaba. From what we gather delays like this are pretty normal, however there were tons of taxi’s willing to negotiate decent group rates to Wadi Musa (Petra) from the port, even at 11pm!

Atop Mt. Sinai

June 7, 2010 By Danny

Hiking Mt Sinai is the sort of thing that manypeople come to Egypt to do. Most people fly to one of Egypt’s expensive coastal cities, book a tour, get on the bus around midnight, arrive sometime before 2am, and with some luck are at the summit with one thousand of their closest friends that they never met before who are all just as tired and cranky as you’d expect them to be…..oh, but the sunrise is spectacular. We decided against that route.

We arrived in the small yet touristy town of St. Catherine’s in the afternoon. This is little town is walking distance from the actual mountain but sees a mere fraction of the traffic the mountain does…since no one wants to sleep here. We were welcomed to town by nice cool air (it might be a desert but it is as high as Denver) along with a Bedouin man who took us rather quickly to his hotel where we quickly made ourselves comfortable as the only guests there. We sat out under the stars,enjoyed a nice Bedouin dinner (which looked surprisingly similar to Italian) and prepared to sleep in rather than waking up at 2am to start our hike…we slept until 10 am.

Doing this hike in the afternoon has three clear benefits from my standpoint. One, you’re awake. Two, you can see things and will enjoy yourself rather than injure yourself. Three, hardly anyone else does it this way. Teaming up with another fellow who arrived at our hotel long after we did we set off around midday to start our hike, passing the usual camel in the road, a couple of fruit stands, and an overpriced souvenir shop.

Arriving at the St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of the mountain we obtained the mandatory guide (in lieu of an entry fee) and started up the long windy trail rather than the steep staircase. On the way we passed 16 overpriced snack shacks but only a handful were open…they really exist for that morning crew. We had the mountain to ourselves the entire 3 hours we hiked.

At the top we were the first to arrive and immediately set to work. First I needed to find to large stones in the shape of tablets. Then, I gave myself a “desert nomad” look using my bandanna and found a suitable place for the photo shoot where I cast myself as Moses. Finally, I posed for the camera with my props approximately 250 times. Most of these photos remain private however, and will be used at a later date.

As far as I can tell, the sunset was just as spectacular as the sunrise would have been except that we were awake to see it so it didn’t feel quite as otherworldly as many who climb in the pre-dawn hours might experience. We went down that mountain rather quickly, and aided by the light of the nearly full moon. We ate well that night and slept even better.

IF YOU GO: Trust us, go and spend a couple of nights in St Catherine’s rather than doing this as an uncomfortable bus trip from Dahab. We stayed at Sheik Sina (owned by Sheik Musa’s son/) and had a found it very comfortable with a lot of options regarding lodging. Getting out the options were a bus to Dahab or a bus to Cairo (where we came from) so we took a cap to Nuweiba in order to continue to Jordan. You can walk to the Monastery and the hike from town without a problem.

Foodie Friday: Falafel

June 4, 2010 By Jillian

Sold as a street side snack falafel is as common as coca cola in the middle east. Deep fried balls usually made from chickpeas, falafel can be served alone, with fuul or stuffed into a pita with fresh vegetables and salads. In Sudan the falafel or t’amiyya was made of fava beans and was served alone or as an addition to fuul. It was mostly plain in flavor and texture. In Egypt we started to see falafel in pita with some salad and sometimes a tahini based sauce. In Jordan we started seeing falafel topping bars, but it wasn’t until Israel that we had the full on falafel sandwich with chips, sauces, pickles and salads. So its deep friend, but actually falafel is packed with lots of vitamins, fiber and iron making it also relatively good for you!

I’m sure everyone’s tried falafel before given how popular it is worldwide (we even had it in Mexico!), so I’ll just leave you all with a recipe from Tyler Florence on the Food Network:

Ingredients

2 cups dried chickpeas, picked through and rinsed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves coarsely chopped
1 handful fresh cilantro, leaves coarsely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying
8 warm pita bread, store bought or homemade recipe follows
Tahini Sauce, recipe follows
Shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, chopped cucumbers

Directions

Put the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and add cool water to cover by 2 inches. Soak the beans in the refrigerator for at least 18 hours or up to 24; the chickpeas will swell to triple their original size. Drain and rinse thoroughly.

Put the soaked chickpeas in a food processor and pulse to coarsely grind, not until smooth but with no whole chickpeas remaining either. Add the baking powder, onion, garlic, spices, and herbs; process until the mixture is pureed; scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate while heating the oil, this should take about 15 minutes.

Pour 3-inches of the oil in a deep fryer or deep heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F.

Roll the falafel mixture into ping-pong size balls. (Alternatively, use an ice cream scoop.) Carefully slip a few at a time into the hot oil, making sure they don’t stick to the bottom. Fry until the chickpea fritters are a crusty dark brown on all sides, turning as needed, about 5 minutes per batch. Remove the falafels with a slotted spoon and drain on a platter lined with paper towels.

Open the pita bread halves to make pockets (don’t split all the way) and put 4 fried falafels into each. Drizzle with the tahini sauce and layer with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Serve immediately.

Mummies, Pyramids and Margarita’s

June 3, 2010 By Jillian

Arriving in Cairo after two long days in the car, we were excited to check into our hotel and grab a drink. A long time ago a fellow blogger told us there was a Chili’s in Cairo and frankly we’ve been dreaming of nothing but a big serving of chips and salsa and an almost-the-size-of-your-head margarita ever since then. It was a schlep into Cairo but the whole time we kept saying, margarita’s tonight! Sitting down to order we looked at the drink menu: slushies, not margarita’s. We were devastated. No margarita’s at Chili’s? Consoling ourselves in fajitas and copious amounts of salsa, the four of us celebrated our arrive to Cairo with some “Jani Water: Red Lion” rum, which as you can imagine was rather unpleasant.

We’ve seen tons of pyramids and temples, but truly the pyramids of Giza are spectacular. As with nearly everything in Egypt, the sheer size of the pyramids is what is most amazing. Although we got to the pyramids early, they were packed with tours so we took the requisite pictures and went straight to the back. Fortunately most tourists stay between the first two pyramids so we had the third all to ourselves. We didn’t pay the extra fee to go climbing in the pyramids, having been advised against it by several travelers, so I can’t tell you what its like to be inside a pyramid, but from the outside I would imagine its rather claustrophobic! Near to the pyramids is the famous sphinx, which sits almost guarding the towering sites. Since it was early though, we passed on the trip to the Pizza Hut across the street where the views of the Sphinx are the best available.

We spent hours at the rather ill designed and laid out Egyptian museum scoping out the treasures of Tutankhamen and more sarcophagus’ than you can shake a stick at. The museum feels more like a cultural warehouse, the hundreds of thousands of artifacts are jammed on shelves mostly without description or explanation. A fascinating exhibit on stolen treasures and destroyed archaeological sites, some destroyed as late as 2004, made us appreciate the problem of conservation and protection. Just an hour in the museum made us realize how Egyptology can be its own discipline.

Cairo itself is chaotic and vibrant and surprisingly hopping late at night. Crossing the street is a bit like playing frogger- you move quickly from lane to lane waiting for a brief break in traffic before jumpingto the next one! Until well after midnight families roam the streets enjoying coffee, ice cream and plenty of window shopping. Lit up like Las Vegas, the main streets are incredibly loud, but we loved being in the city again. Wandering the Khan al Kalili market and getting past the tourist area, we loved the constant commerce around us. Vendors selling spices, jewelry, clothing, shoes, fabrics, no one yelling at us as tourists, rather just shouting at the crowd of customers. Thousands of shops and stalls sold everything from accessories to spices and toys. Being a Muslim country, you can imagine our surprise at the numerous risqué lingerie shops that also lined the streets of central Cairo. Makes you wonder what’s under that chador!

We loved Cairo and would be happy to return to its chaos and color someday. Ultimately Cairo was a sad experience for us as we had to say goodbye to Ali and Campbell who continued on to Alexandria for a ferry to Italy while we continued East to the Sinai. Traveling with them continuously since Nairobi, it was hard to say goodbye to them and be on our own again. We’ll miss Campbell’s comments, Ali’s TIA logic and the trials and tribulations of taking Kaspuurr through the desert or up a mountain. Hopefully it won’t be the last time we travel together!

IF YOU GO: Cairo is a chaotic, amazing, vibrant city, in fact the largest in Africa. Do see the Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids of Giza, but also explore the markets and neighborhoods, which are very rewarding. We went to the pyramids first thing in the morning and took an inexpensive taxi straight there. The Khan al Kalili market is enormous, we went in the evening and snagged some great deals from the vendors. Remember to keep a sense of humor when negotiating and don’t feel obligated to buy even if you are invited for tea. Remember that the price if always negotiable especially with a smile and some basic arabic. Negotiating is part of the game. Street food in Cairo is plentiful and delicious though be weary of tourists prices and refuse to pay them.