Day 3 was a long day. We started with a visit to the crater of Ramon - Makhtesh Ramon - a vast crater created, not by a meteor, but by water. Here in the south of Israel everything is about water. Either the lack of it or the action of too much of it. In this case a huge inland sea covered a sandstone formation until levels dropped and the sea went pouring out. Subsequent flash floods and wind erosion ate away the sandstone leaving a desert within a circle of cliffs 25km across.
There is an amazing visitor's centre with movies and displays.
As one enters the visitor's centre one wonders if you are in the right place, because the whole place is dedicated to the memory of Col. Ilan Ramon, who, having been a jet fighter pilot hero, joined NASA as an astronaut and was one of the crew on the ill-fated Columbia mission which disintegrated on re-entry on 1st February 2003. He has hero status in Israel as the country's first astronaut. Sadly, there was more tragedy in the family. Asaf, Ilan's oldest son, followed his Dad into the air force and was killed in a accident in 2009 while flying an F16.
Ilan Ramon loved Makhtesh Ramon and spent much time visiting the desert there.
From Makhtesh Ramon we drove south through the desert to the southernmost point of Israel, Eilat. We had hoped to see the Red Sea, but it was not to be. We stopped in at a kibbutz which specializes in dairy herds. Their shop sells the best ice-cream, seriously the best. So we all had ice cream before heading to the Israel/Jordan border. Here we had to take everything off the bus and walk through Israeli customs and emigration, across "no-man's-land", trundling suitcases and carrying backpacks, to the Hashamite Kingdom of Jordan. All in a sun-blazing 40+ degrees.
Once through the border we found our bus and Jordanian guide James and set off up north along the three thousand year old trading route, the King's Highway. The present road is laid on the road the Romans built on top of the camel paths.
This land has history going way, way back and it is not hard to imagine the Hebrew people led by Moses getting grouchy in all the dust and mountains, lack of water and HEAT.
Note: Our bus has a fridge on board for water and air conditioning so we have all the creature comforts! At around 15.00 we arrived at the Amra Palace Hotel in Petra.
Day 4 started with a drive in the bus to the ancient Nabataean city of Petra. This is one of the seven wonders of the World. The city was carved from the sandstone gorges that make their way through the mountains by the Nabataeans who created their city on the great trade route between China and the Meditteranean Sea about 300BC. The city flourished until 106AD when the Romans took it over. The style of the buildings is influenced by Egyptian, Greek and Roman architecture and are all carved out of amazingly colored sandstone which draws its colours from the mineral deposits which leach through the rocks.
The visitor to Petra has to make a long walk - about 1.5kms through a narrow gorge running through the mountain. The gorge was formed during an earthquake which shifted the two sides apart, in fact there are places where one can clearly see where the two sides would fit together. At the end of the gorge the visitor suddenly comes into the huge open space in front of the Treasury.
Sarah and I realise that we are not as fit as we think we are and so when the tour leader offered to take tour members up to the top of the mountain (1000 steps) to visit a building called "The Monastery", we, and about half of the group opted to stay with the guide and walk out of Petra. In the end we also opted to hire one of the local taxis - a horse drawn buggy and so made our way out of Petra a bone-shaking speed. (That is Sarah in the buggy with the driver - Radar - and his 12 year-old horse).
Petra is referred to as Sela in the Old Testament - one interesting reference is found in 1Sam 23:28. The text is talking of the running fight between King Saul and David in the Desert of Maon; the chase is stopped when Saul is told that the Philistines are causing trouble ...... "and so that place is called Sela Hammahlekoth". The footnote translates the full name as "Rock of parting". One can understand perhaps a 'parting' of the ways for Saul and David; but after today's walk through the 1.5km gorge, I have to suggest the 'rock of parting' sounds very much like Petra!
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