Little thirsty
“Ignorance is bliss”. Often true. At the risk of sounding like an airhead, there are times (maybe more than I’d like to admit) during travel that I am almost grateful for the lack of previous knowledge I hold about particular destinations. There are people who do some serious research before arriving at their chosen site, and for those who do, I commend you. There is great value in understanding, or even having some awareness of the history behind what it is that you are going to see. We do our fair share of research for the most part, but there are times when we don’t (or one of us doesn’t).
All I knew of Petra was this:
#1- cool looking ruins (this knowledge courtesy of scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
#2 – it would be very HOT
After spending the night in ‘Ain Musa, we woke early and took the free shuttle down to Petra, where we had decided to purchase the two-day tickets. Within seven minutes of walking down the entrance path (armed with two liters of water and my cool-tie) with the morning sun beating down and no clouds in sight, I was already regretting this decision.
Even with the heat, which only became progressively worse as the day wore on, there were those moments where the sights combined with the weight of centuries of history made me forget my discomfort. And rather than focus on frying in the sun, bask instead in the glory of the lost city.
Petra is one of those rare places where even though there are specific tombs, monuments, and other types of ruins, you don’t need to be standing in front of one to be overwhelmed, only to then hurriedly rush to the next marker to be overwhelmed again.
no matter where you look or which direction you face, it is incredible. Even on the climb to the Monastery, as I plodded along mentally cursing every other one of the 800 stairs, when I stopped to catch my breath, I was rewarded with a stunning and changing view. I was happy to just stop at any point, out of fatigue, but also just to stare and take it all in.
As for ignorance being bliss, I can no longer claim not to know Petra. There are places that inspire and this is one of them.
Seeing it for myself, as with seeing so many of the places we’ve been, has only served to make me want to learn more about it. I feel maybe more ignorant now, having seen that something like this could exist and still knowing just the tip of the iceberg about the who, why, and how. So maybe I’m doing the process in reverse, but whatever the case, let the research begin.
