The heart of Petra takes you through relentless donkey guys and wandering jewelry men. It really is a bit like experiencing the bad aspects of Egypt—you cannot simply say "la, shukran" to an item and expect touts to graciously walk away. They follow you, they insist that you should "look for free," they extol the comfort of exploring Petra by air-conditioned taxi—that is, a tired donkey with its nose rubbed raw from its reins and backside scarred from lashings.

Street of Facades

Every little bit of money helps the Bedouins survive, and we tourists are, of course, wandering in and out of their homeland. But the hassle is a huge irritation, and the approach most people take makes you want to avoid giving out any extra money if possible. It's a shame because the hassle both detracts from the beauty of the site and hardens tourists towards the locals (which in turn causes the locals to resent tourists).

If you can ignore the hassle, central Petra features temples and beautiful rock-cut tombs, and while the area involves a great deal of walking and very little shade, it's relatively flat.

Street of Facades

Roman Theatre

After leaving the Treasury, I passed the Street of Façades, flanked with tombs leading to the center of the city. The tombs varied in style and size, with the poorer, ordinary tombs on the left. Closer to the center I could see the impressive Royal Tombs coming up on the right.

Before I got to the Royal Tombs, I came to the Roman Theatre and was quickly cornered by a donkey jerk. He approached so quietly and calmly that I was fooled into thinking he was just sitting in the theatre taking a break. I mentioned that my friend Ahmad suggested hiking to Jebel Haroun. He told me that it was absolutely impossible to go without a guide, but that he would take me there for 40JD.

This was completely preposterous, but when he wouldn't let up after the first few refusals, I stormed off. I was furious that he wouldn't just move on to someone else rather than focusing on fleecing me for almost $60. But when I heatedly told him to leave me alone, he got angry right back and informed me that I cannot speak like that to him in his country. Hmmm. He trailed alongside me for quite a while on his donkey muttering about crazy tourists.

I headed toward the Royal Tombs. The impressive Urn Tomb is first. While I wondered how to climb higher, a seemingly nicer donkey jerk pointed the way. He promised that he was not trying to make money off me. Otherwise he would also tell me I couldn't reach Jebel Haroun without a guide... he said that in truth I could go unguided, but it would take a long time.

I was icy to start, but let my guard down the more he talked about his own travels overseas and his decision to return home to the caves. He still seemed slightly slimy but harmless.

Urn Tomb

Corinthian Tomb

At this point I was still unsure whether I wanted to walk or ride up to the monastery, but when he said that he'd take me for 5JD, I automatically started bargaining. He agreed to 3JD, so walking was no longer an option.

Suddenly, the donkey jerk began an unprovoked lecture on the stinginess of tourists and I decided the deal was off. He followed me for a while, whining that he would not eat today if I did not go with him. I countered that I didn't want to pay someone who couldn't be bothered to treat me with a little respect. I certainly don't want to subsist on bread and water, but I didn't feel the need to justify living on a budget when traveling for 2 months. He was obnoxious and condescending and I was glad to get away from him.

View of central Petra

Ready to lead your journey

Qasr el-Bint

I explored the Royal Tombs area more, which provided a beautiful overview of Petra. While looking down from the tombs, I clearly saw the first donkey jerk ride up to the second and watched them chat and ride off together. Figures.

Past the Royal Tombs is the center of town. The Colonnaded street is badly damaged, but the flagstones that remain are original. Camels wait patiently for riders, and ruined temples dot the mountainous landscape. Two of the largest temples are currently being excavated by Americans, the Great Temple and Temple of Winged Lions.

The French have taken over excavation duties for Qasr El-Bint Faroun, the only free-standing building remaining in Petra. It is a very large temple, with the biggest façade in Petra, most likely dedicated to the Nabataean god Dushara.

Just past the Qasr el-Bint is essentially the modern commercial center of Petra, with restaurants, cleanish bathrooms, and non-working soda machines. There is also a small museum featuring artifacts found in Petra.

On the way out of central Petra, the competition amongst donkey boys to get my attention was pretty intense. I ignored pleas to rent a donkey, headed toward the steps to the monastery, and found relative peace and solitude in the climb.

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