PETRA, THE ANCIENT CITY sculpted out of the red-rock cliffs in the Jordanian desert, is one of the most renowned archaeological sites in the world. In planning my visit last fall, I assumed it would be glutted with tourists, like Disney World over Christmas or the Taj Mahal any day of the year, but I was still determined to see it. A filmmaker friend who’d recently scouted a documentary on Petra suggested a local tour operator, Hosni Mayoof, who could help me avoid the crowds. “Leave it to me, my friend,” Hosni said when I called him and mentioned my concern. As it turned out, Petra has far fewer tourists nowadays than I could have imagined.
The prize possession of a country bordered on all sides by some tough neighbors—Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Israel—Petra suffers by association. Skittish travelers wary of violence in the Middle East are choosing to bypass Jordan altogether and vacation elsewhere. According to Jordan’s Ministry of Tourism, visitor numbers to Petra dropped by 55% last year from 2010 levels, when more than 900,000 sightseers toured the 65-acre archaeological park and other nearby ruins.
ROCK STAR| Playing a rebab in Petra. PHOTO:ROGER TOLL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
A steeper drop was reported for the first three months of 2016. Just how risky is Jordan? Opinions vary, not surprisingly, but when, last week, I asked Emile A. Nakhleh, a Middle East security expert and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, about the situation in Jordan, he said, “Although there is some terrorist threat, it is highly localized on the Syrian and Iraqi borders only…. The national security services are very present [in Jordan’s tourist areas]. I wouldn’t hesitate to go to Petra or Wadi Rum.”
A sharp downturn in tourism has its upsides for travelers. In Wadi Musa, the “new” town that abuts the archaeological park, the Mövenpick Resort, considered the finest hotel in the area and just across from Petra’s visitor center, seemed half full when I checked in; nightly room rates were as low as $200.
Petra was sculpted from the red-rock cliffs of the Jordanian desert 2,000 years ago. PHOTO: ROGER TOLL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Escorted by Hosni, I entered the park on foot—as most visitors do—following the trail that leads from the visitor center through a mile-long slot canyon that snakes between sandstone walls rising some 500-feet-high. With an entryway as well concealed as that, no wonder Petra was “lost” for centuries, at least to Europeans. It wasn’t until the early 1800s that a young Swiss explorer, following a tip about a “lost city of rock,” snooped his way through the gorge and then sent word back home of his wild discovery. As we turned the last corner, Petra’s most famous building, the Treasury, suddenly came into view. Delicately sculpted from the red-rock cliffs, with classical columns and cornices, it looks like a storybook palace or a movie set—which it was, for “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” among others.
‘If Petra is reminiscent of ‘Indiana Jones,’ Wadi Rum evokes ‘Lawrence of Arabia.’’
Like most of Petra, the Treasury was built by an Arab tribe known as the Nabataeans, who began erecting the city as early as 312 B.C. Beside the Treasury runs the so-called Street of Facades, bordered by a cliff face lined with the Nabataeans’ houses and tombs. These days, the street serves as the core of Petra, where trinket sellers and camel drivers offer their wares to the smattering of small tour groups. Inspired by the adventurers who came before me—real and fictional—I left Hosni chatting with a few tea vendors and went on my own to explore some of the 200 or so niches and caves perched above the main road.
“In its golden age, 2,000 years ago, many thousands lived here,” Sheik Raja Alnawafleh told me when we met the next day. The sheik, who owns the Alanbat Hotel in Wadi Musa, is the chief of a large Bedouin tribe who lives in the region. “Our tribe is very old,” he said, “but the Nabataeans were even earlier. [They built] dams and channels and carved steps to the mountaintops. They were rich from the taxes of passing spice, incense and silk caravans. They built their capital with that money.”
HUMP DAY | Wildlife in Jordan’s Wadi Rum.PHOTO: ROGER TOLL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
After I rejoined Hosni, we walked to the massive Monastery, another of the site’s star attractions, and then Hosni suggested we take a “secret” trail to Little Petra, nearby ruins that look like a miniaturized version of the bigger complex, with smaller tombs and temples. We walked 6 miles along a ridge above Petra, never passing another soul. At the highest point, we stopped to enjoy the view of the rugged Wadi Araba and Israel’s desert, no more than 3 miles away.
The day after I toured Petra, one of Hosni’s drivers drove me to a desert camp, 90 minutes away in Wadi Rum, where I’d spend the night. If Petra is reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies, Wadi Rum, a vast wilderness of wind-ruffled sand and sandstone islands, evokes “ Lawrence of Arabia.” T.E. Lawrence, the larger-than-life British officer, visited the region frequently, and many scenes from the 1962 film were shot there. Sun City Camp, one of Wadi Rum’s handful of Bedouin-style camps designed for tourists, is a grid of lamb's wool tents connected by wooden walkways built above the sand. Soon after arriving, I climbed into a 4x4 pickup with a local Bedouin guide, Mosa Alrawajfih, who drove me deep into the desert, where the sands sparkled creamy white in sections, then deep pink, then a vermilion. We drove for hours and stopped frequently to walk on the sands, all the while chatting about Bedouin history and customs and camels (“Our desert ship,” said Mosa). We spied plenty of camels and wind-sculpted rocks but no other cars or people. Finally, we passed two jeeps parked near a large rock, where maybe 12 tourists were awaiting sunset. “We will go elsewhere,” Musa said. “I don’t like a crowd.” We found our own rock a half-mile farther, then Mosa disappeared for a few minutes to find “fuel for tea.” He returned with a few roots and twigs, pulled a kettle and a packet of spices from the car, and kindled a fire. As the sun dropped past the horizon, we sipped a brew of sage, cinnamon, camomile and cardamom, and sat in silence.
THE LOWDOWN // A Primer on Petra and Wadi Rum
Getting There: Fly into Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport, and drive about 2½ hours to Petra. Alternatively, from Israel enter Jordan through one of two border crossings, at Jerusalem or Eilat. The latter is arguably easier and faster: It takes roughly 2½ hours from Eilat to Petra.
Staying There: The most upscale hotel in the area is the Mövenpick, across the street from the entrance to Petra (from about $213 a night,movenpick.com/Petra). More modest but comfortable alternatives are Alanbat Hotelfrom about $40 a night, alanbat.com) and the Petra Moon Hotel (from about $70 a night,petramoonhotel.com). In Wadi Rum, Sun City Camp is as luxe as you’ll find (from about $180 a night, suncitycamp.com)
