The Belly of the Beast
Dehydration sneaks up on you. One minute you are trying not to drink too much water so as not to be inconvenienced by a call from nature, and the next minute you realize your lips are puckering and you wonder if you are becoming a mummy before your time. As our trip to the Levant starts to wind itself down towards our last few days in Jordan, I have a touch of Delhi Belly. I do not feel too bad and my days seem reasonably in control, but when dusk comes around, my body wants to rid itself of any and everything it has accumulated during the day, regardless of how bland or prudent it may have been. Along with it goes any fluids I have in my body.
Mike has been talking to me about probiotics for a few days now and I have been ignoring him since I have never been a follower of body chemistry theories, probably much to my own disadvantage. Meanwhile, Melisa has been talking up her Pepto-Bismol tablets, which I have equally shunned. By this morning I was reconsidering both and I texted Mike and I asked him to please bring some probiotics to the breakfast room, which he did.
For breakfast I thought it was important to eat something since I definitely felt as though my system was devoid of any nutrients. I’m not sure I really know what’s good to eat in the circumstances but I put some fresh pineapple. on my plate and then added some rolls and butter and some cheese. I purposely skipped the eggs and the breakfast meats. I was hungry enough and the food was good enough that I was able to have a perfectly normal breakfast. During breakfast, Melisa even convinced me to take one of her Pepto-Bismol tablets.
Then it was off to the visitor center of Petra, where Jameel told us the plan for the day, which involved everyone except me walking down through the Siq, and meeting up at the Petra Treasury building. I would be taking a golf cart down the Siq since he explained that the only way to be assured of a return trip on the golf cart up the Siq (when you need it most) at the end of a long day, would be if you purchased a round-trip ticket. The Siq is a 1.1 mile long curvy path through the 200 to 300 foot cliffs leading into the hidden city of Petra. It was made famous in the first Indiana Jones movie as he ran through the Siq and into the city of Petra. It is literally the only way into Petra. And the only way to go down the Siq is by foot or by golf cart. When I was last here 25 years ago, there were no golf carts, and instead there were donkeys and camels running amongst all the people down the Siq. I’m sure someone in the government decided that was less than safe for most tourists, and the golf carts were also more pleasant for the rider. You can still ride a horse down to the Siq, which is what Kim and Melisa did, and you can ride a camel by the Treasury building or you can ride a donkey from the end of the town of Petra back up to the Treasury, and even all the way up the Siq if you want, so there are still plenty of local beasts of burden being used in Petra to move people around. I suppose that’s important to the local inhabitants of Petra, who now number some 5,000 souls because they are the only ones allowed to conduct commerce inside of Petra. I’m sure it was in exchange for forcing them out of their homes within Petra (mostly in caves) to a specially built community that can be seen off in the distance to the North. These people were and are still all Bedouins, so they really do prefer their nomadic desert lifestyle. Giving donkey and camel rides and selling inexpensive souvenirs, seems to suit them.
The entry into the city of Petra from the Siq has always been one of the spectacular sights of the ancient world. The early morning sun on the 120 foot carved red sandstone Treasury building, is a sight to behold. Strangely enough, the Treasury building, which is absolutely the most recognizable structure in Petra, is only one of 600 carved stone structures in Petra, but it’s that grand visage as you burst forth from the Siq that makes it the poster-child of Petra. From the treasury, we walked about another mile on a rough gravel pathway with scattered Bedouin shops, and with magnificent views of the surrounding cliffs, all of which have tombs, temples, caves, and other structures carved into them. The last half of this walk is an area which was completely rebuilt during the Roman conquest of Petra for 300 years from 100 A.D. to about 400 A.D.. The pathway at that point turns into a replica of the Old Appian Way with its limestone pavers that are very challenging to walk across without tripping, but which provided the Roman chariots the ability to use the roads without getting them rutted or muddied.
Petra hasn’t changed a lot in the 25 years since I was here, except for some of the amenities. For instance, now at the end of the city there is a restaurant called The Basin, which gives visitors the ability to walk the length of Petra, sit and have a nice lunch, and then walk back through Petra, choosing to walk up into the cliffs or not as they are able and willing. No one in our group was either willing and or able to walk up in the cliffs so instead, we slowly walked back up to the Treasury building after lunch. Please understand that as tempting as I found the ability to hire a camel or a donkey to ride up to the Treasury, there is no way I would suffer the indignity of falling off of a belligerent beast that wasn’t enjoying my particular burden on his back, so I too walked back up the hillside path. While, this was an accomplishment achieved by many of all ages, I felt it was a particular accomplishment for me, given the state of my legs and knees. As I rode the golf cart (this time joined by Kim), I was especially tired. I noted that my iPhone step counter was telling me that I had traveled 11,000 steps today which is supposed to translate into about 5 1/2 miles of walking. I don’t care what anyone says. That’s a lot of walking for seventy year old big dude like me.
The really good news was that somewhere between the probiotics, the Pepto-Bismol tablets, the slightly more cautious, eating at breakfast and lunch, and probably some good fortune. I was able to get through the day without shitting my pants. That may sound very crass to some of you, but I’m gonna tell you that at this age, and under these circumstances, it’s a lot less crass to talk about than it is to have happened. At 4 PM the Movenpick Hotel which has its roots in Switzerland I believe is putting on its daily chocolate extravaganza (which I’m led to believe is actually not too extravagant). Mike in particular has been looking forward to this and he and Melissa and Kim will go down and enjoy their chocolate while I stay in the room and take a leisurely hot shower recognizing that eating bunch of chocolate can’t possibly be good for the belly of this particular beast. Tomorrow on the Wadi Rum, where I hope to invoke the image of Auda Abu Taye.