Adventures in Petra ... the Treasury

My contract in the UAE ended December 31st. And I had some vacation time to use. Tim and I decided to go to a country that was easy to get to from the UAE, but maybe not as easy from the U.S.  

Petra, Jordan has long been on our list of places we want to see.

Turns out that Jordan is just a 3 hour flight from Abu Dhabi, non-stop.

Through a friend at work, I got connected with a gentleman who organizes personal tours. (You can arrange for tours through the country's tourism website, but we liked the idea of supporting an individual, and the cost was comparable.)

Our trip included, in order: Mt. Nebo, Madaba, Karak Castle, Petra, Wadi Rum, Dead Sea, AlJoun Castle, Jerash, and a bit of Amman.  I'm going to start with Petra, though ... it was as stunning as you would expect, and didn't disappoint. (Sometimes things or places get talked up and built up, and then you see them in person, and you go "oh".  Not Petra. You see Petra and you go "wow!" ... if you can get any words out.)

The hotel we stayed at was the Petra Guest House. It was the closest hotel to the entrance of Petra. The timing of our trip had us arriving in Petra the evening of December 23rd. That evening, we had tickets for "Petra at Night", where you walk the 1 or so kilometers through the Siq (canyon), to the Treasury.  It's interesting to navigate that passageway at night, with hundreds candles in bags along the way and in front of the Treasury. And other people navigating in the darkness, too. It's not an even pathway, so I took my time.

While the Treasury by candlelight was lovely, seeing it by day was stunning.

With your ticket into Petra, you can ride in by horse. But friends and the guidebooks encourage entering by foot, so that you can soak in the visual. And I think they are right.

And then you are in front of this famous edifice. Awesome.

A very long time ago, names were given to the tombs in Petra, and the "Treasury" was one of them. I need to go back to my Jordan guidebook and give more history and facts in one of these posts. But for now, photos and personal narrative.

We wanted to have as much time as possible inside Petra, so we headed in early. The sunlight hitting the Treasury in the morning, and the Monastery in the afternoon, is quite breath-taking. (More on the Monastery and other areas of Petra soon.)

There are donkeys and camels hanging around the Treasury, as guides invite visitors to ride instead of walk through the canyons.

(I didn't know that the bottom of camels' feet were soft. I had assumed they would be more horse-like.)

I do want to share a couple of people photos.  I mentioned that you can ride through the Siq and enter Petra on a horse (or by horse cart). These gentleman keep those paths very clean for those who choose to walk.

You'll notice in some of my Petra photos that people are bundled up a bit ... it was quite chilly!

The photo of the two men above, they are sitting in front of a water channel that runs the length of the Siq. The Nabataeans, long ago, carved these out of the sandstone, diverting flood waters and enabling fresh water for residents' use. (Not that long ago, beduoins were still living in the caves of Petra.)

Also along the canyon walls are remnants of carvings in the walls. Water, wind, and sand have eroded the delicate features. Here the lower half of a statue of a man, probably a soldier.

And what was a camel carving. (You can make out the camel feet.)

Camel Festival (complete with Camel Beauty Contest!)

Tim and I went to the 7th annual Al Dahfra Festival ... more informally known as "The Camel Festival".  What drew me there was a desire to see the Camel Beauty Contest. Yup, you read that right. Camel Beauty Pageant.

Did you know that camels come in different colors? Some are the light brown. Some are dark brown. Some are black.

Last year there were reportedly 25,000 camels at the Festival. Some are there to be judged as beauties. Some race. Some are sold for the milk they produce (the light camels provide better tasting milk, I'm told). Many are sold or auctioned. 

When Tim and I arrived to the Al Dahfra Festival, we really didn't know what to expect. I think we both thought it would be contained in a smaller area. 

Nope. It was spread out for kilometers, with people camping out with their families and camels and horses and goats, giving each other ample space.

The Festival grounds go on for miles. (To be geographically specific, I suppose I should say kilometers, not miles.)

As we drove in, we saw some vendors along the left. We saw a sign for the Traditional Souk on the right, and thought would be a good place to start. Emirati women were selling their homemade crafts (I've written and shared photos about their wares in a previous post), as well as dates and honey and incense and perfumes (all very popular products in the Middle East). The one thing we purchased was a book that included dozens of entries and winners of the annual photography contest, documenting the Festival. At some the vendor stalls (the ones that we drove by, and a few in the Traditional Souk) had some pieces that looked a bit like the old-fashioned glittery Christmas tree garland. We couldn't figure out what in the world that was for ... and then we saw the camels ...

Ahhh. So that's what the 'garland' is for. I should have asked what the Arabic and official name was.

This black beauty above was -- if I have her name right -- Montilla. And she is a beauty. And huge! Look at those feet. She was entered into the beauty contest.

As Tim and I walked in, Tim mentioned that it would be great if we could talk to someone about what the contest criteria. What makes a camel award-winning in a beauty contest. Ask and ye shall receive. Right after I took this photo, per the request of these friendly young men ...

Tim and I were the only Caucasians in sight. I was the only woman in sight. Yet it wasn't uncomfortable. But you absolutely notice these things.

Jaber from Saudi Arabia walks up to and introduces himself, and begins to tell us about the contest. Black camels are more prized and sell for a higher price. The judges look at a camel's ears, lips, legs, feet, hump, hair ... there are points awarded for the various categories.  Tim and I ended up standing next to Jaber as he explained to a tv camera (in Arabic) what he had just explained to us. Jaber also had some fun, as a crowd (friendly!) gathered, and he asked us what we thought Montilla would go for if she won the beauty contest. We had heard that they could go for millions of dirhams, but we started low, not fully certain what a camel like her would fetch. I said 100,000 dirhams. That got some chuckles from the group. Then Jaber looked at Tim and asked what his guess was. Tim said was it higher or lower. Some of the men standing around us raised their thumb in a "higher" gesture. Tim guessed 500,000 dirhams. More chuckles. Jaber shared that if she wont the contest, the owner could get anywhere from 6 to 20 million dirhams. (Hint = divide that by 3.67) 

Wow.

Next thing we knew, Tim and I were invited to tea at their camp. With their enthusiasm and our curiosity, how could we say no?!

So off we went in a 4x4 SUV (white, of course -- the majority color of vehicles in the UAE) to their camp. 

We arrived to a beduoin-looking tent. In a C-shape, open on one side. Red wool pattern. Cushions on the floor, majlis-style. Carpets on the ground.  Shoes come off before you walk all the way in.

Tim, me, and about 60 Gulf Region men of all ages. (UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi)

Arabic coffee served with dates.
Then sweet hot tea. 

Young men wanting to practice their English with us.  Ali and Sultan.
Jaber encouraging them to do so. (Jaber studied in the States and I think he was visited more U.S. states than I have ... his English was excellent.) 

Me with Jaber:

Tim walked to the other end of the tent with Ali to take photos of people. Tim ended up speaking to some of the older gentlemen, with Ali acting as translator.

When Tim asked about the small cane that the men walk around with, Ali's brother ended up giving Tim his. (Always held in hand during the UAE national dance by men, it's tradition stems from use with herding.)

I've mentioned in previous posts that hospitality is a huge thing in the Gulf Region. The "businessman" who owned the camel came to his tent and greeted close associates. In acknowledgement of us as guests, he told Jaber to make sure we were well taken care of. (We were!)

Then, we were invited to stay for lunch. Jaber asked if we would be more comfortable eating by ourselves. We accepted the invitation to eat with everyone else. After washing hands, people wandered into a different tent.  Carpeted floor, with lengths of plastic on the carpet.  We sat down on the ground, and out came large round metal trays, heaped with rice, a few veggies, and camel meat. Looked and tasted quite like pot roast.  Jaber asked if we would like spoons. We opted to try the traditional method, and scooped with bread and with our right hands.  It was delicious. 

We all headed back in the white SUVs to the stands near the camel pens, to find out what camel won the contest. Tim getting a tutorial on the contest criteria:

The first contestants were the light-colored camels. Great celebration when the winners are announced. And the winning camel is dusted with saffron. Apparently they know the smell, and boy did that camel hold his/her head high and proud when it was dusted on it.

I've emailed Jaber to find out if Montilla won the black camel contest. Tim and I had decided to leave before it got dark. We had to trek around the place and find our rental car ... where we had parked and where we had wound up were not in the same place. Close enough to walk, but I think we only found the car by gut instinct!

Random camel photos from this day. (We both took many photos -- especially Tim -- a bit hard to pick and choose, but here you go!)  And yes, camels pose for photos, especially the ones groomed for the beauty contests.

A video.  You can hear men singing in the stands, awaiting the announcement of the contest winner. What I wish came out louder on my video was the noise the camels make.

There is so much to share about this day. I think I've given a good overview, but feel that I've really only skimmed the surface.

A day that went from fun to amazing, with the hospitality of our coffee and lunch hosts. Thank you for making it so memorable!

More photos and stories coming!!

Hi.

Apologies that I haven't posted in over a week. Well, 10 days really.

It has taken me longer to get things unpacked and put away.

While I enjoyed my time in the UAE, and it was overall a really good experience, it is great to be home.

So ... I am hoping that with the upcoming "long" weekend, I can get caught up and start posting about the camel festival and Jordan!

Thanks for our patience :-)

- Kate

Desert Safari

Tim and I spent a couple of nights in Liwa ... that's in the southeast area of the UAE. Still in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi is both a city and an Emirate), and sits on the northern part of the great desert called The Empty Quarter.

We stayed at the Liwa Hotel. It's a stark white hotel, sitting atop a hill, and it overlooks dunes. 


We had a deal on a suite ... far more room than we needed for the short time we were there, but fun to have a room with character. Would be a great room for entertaining or for an extended stay.

LOTS of dunes ... almost nothing but dunes ... in this area of the country. Beautiful red sands.

Good ol' Wikipedia has information on the tallest dune in the UAE, the Tal Moreeb:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moreeb_Dune

I found some videos that show people "bashing" the dune. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrTfdxrEG50) The day we drove out to the Tal Moreeb, they were prepping the area for a big festival and dune buggy competition, so we couldn't get right next to it and climb up any part of it. It's size is impressive.

The day we arrived, we had a sunset 4x4 excursion and bbq dinner.  Karim was our guide and driver. He's from Egypt, and has lived in the UAE for 27 years. 

On our way to our dinner site, we stopped at a camel farm. This pair were not penned, and were quite happy to pose for photos.

The person who minds the camels lives in a bedouin tent ... and right outside the tent is a tv satellite dish. (We saw similar as we roamed by car ... I just didn't expect to see such a modern convenience next to a temporary abode!)

Our guide/driver, Karim, had a Santa hat with him. As I said, camels pose for photos.

While venturing via 4x4 on the dunes, we saw a modern version of camel herding. Note the man on the quad :-)

Once to the spot where we had our bbq, Tim and I had the time to hike up the dunes and watch the sunset.

There was a bit of a breeze, and the sands gently blew across the surface. While the red was the most visually obvious, sitting down and touching the sand -- which felt like a fine powder -- you could also see black and beige sands mixed in. And whether it was an effect of light, the sand that blew across the surface looked like a very light color.

Many thanks to Karim of Liwa Adventures (he's on Facebook) for a great afternoon and evening. And for so easily navigating the dunes in the dark after we finished dinner!

Polo at the Palace

It's January 2014, and I'm home ... yay!
But yet, I still have many photos and several stories to tell about Abu Dhabi, and about our trip to Jordan.

So ...

In November, friend Hannah Davies and I went to "Polo at the Palace".

I had not been to a polo match before.
From what I understand, Emirates Palace developed this portion of their property specifically for hosting polo matches.

The tradition of divot stomping ...

I liked that the players and horses are so close ...

It seems a pretty straight-forward game. And the horses are impressive -- quick, agile, responsive to the riders.

You could order drinks (alcohol and non-alcohol alike), as well as snacks.

The weather was cool. There was a chance of rain, but stayed away. While the rain stayed away, it provided a really nice display before the sun set.

'Twas a lovely way to spend the afternoon :-)
Emirates Palace: