1/14/2010- Petra

I awoke this morning to my own self at about 5:15; but awakened even further to the sound of the morning call to prayer- something I'm sure will grow to become a bit of an annoyance, but for now, in the early morning darkness, is both haunting and beautiful, sort of like a Gregorian chant, or the droaning of Shaolin monks. Like a mountain fog that trickles in slowly and quietly, on a tiny string of a vapor trail, then builds further and further and washes over everything. Then I was kept awake by a pair of alley cats, whose yowling almost sounded like an attemt to replecate the calls to prayer. Kind of funny.

Since I was up I went for a jog- just down to the gates of the park, and back up. Very beautiful, especially in the early morning dawn. Got a few greetings (and some accompanying strange looks perhaps- and an offer for a taxi ride) from the folks around town. So far (and I'm sure I'll find to be true everywhere, and hopefully ubiquitous to the region as a whole) the hospitality afforded to visitors has been everything advertised by guide books and told to me by my buddy Dan. That said, because your a foreigner, some will still try to bilk you for a few extra JD (Dinars) if you're stupid enough to fall for it. Just keep your wits about you and you'll be fine. Stuff is expensive around here, the dinar is worth a bit more than the dollar (.7 to 1) and unless I'm getting duped, they appear to spend them like dollars.

I'll continue this post later- want to get to Petra by 9AM, get a full day in while it's light (sun sets around 5 here). I'll be back soon-

So I'm back... Petra was very impressive. It's a playground for anyone interested in ancient history; a great way to jump-start one's interest in or gain an appreciation for ancient history; see something really cool that people just don't do anymore; and a great way to spend a day outside. There's so much there, I hiked about 8 miles total, took so many pictures I ran out of memory on my little digital camera (luckily I've got a ton of memory on my video camera). I'll update those pictures when I have a minute, and an internet connection for my computer (which for all intents doesn't appear likely for a few days... we'll see). It's funny, every once in a while you'll hear the Indiana Jones theme song (the Last Crusade as filmed there, I'm sure you all know this), but so little of it has to do with that movie, there's so much more there- I took this hike to the top of one of the mountains to see the Monestary (spectacular site), and a little farther up the trail is an even more incredible view of the mountain peaks behind Petra, and the Wadi Araba desert below. Just stared out there for a long time... it was nice and warm up there, too. And I was beat. Great place to rest.

Not to overshadow all the great things that happened today, just a small discovery (slightly disheartening), but keep in mind that if you go to a restaurant, there's a good possibility that it has a menu for locals and a menu for foreigners, with items priced... "accordingly." Lesson learned, and I have the folks here at the Cleopetra hotel for enlightening me about this fact... albeit after the fact... oh well.

Off to Wadi Rum tomorrow- a big colorful desert where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed (which I did not see, meant to), then on up to Amman for the night. I'll keep you posted-