Jordan- Petra

Today, we ventured out early to explore Petra by camel and foot. We stayed literally right across the street from the entrance, so we could just walk over and through the entrance gates in the morning- very convenient and there was a big breakfast buffet. I am a breakfast eater, so I was happy. We also left early, so that we could see the façade of the Treasury when the light hits it in the morning.

Petra is an amazing ancient city. Walking through the siq, the mile long long corridor that leads to the Treasury, I saw shrines and rock carvings. We walked alongside a water channel carved into the rocks. Of course, it is truly wonderful, when you come to the end of the siq and see, framed by the rock walls surrounding you, a piece of the Treasury. As I mounted a camel by the Treasury, our camera crew got permission to climb up high on a rock ledge to get the famous angle of the Treasury, a shot from Indiana Jones.

Riding a camel is not easy. Filming riding a camel is even harder. My guide Ibrahim told me about the local legends of hidden treasures inside the Treasury as Greg, our photographer, filmed from atop a third camel. We then led our camels further into Petra towards the ampitheatre.

There is a lot to see in Petra. I could have spent days here hiking around and letting my imagination run wild. We rode our camels towards a small shop where Marguerite van Geldermalsen, author of the book “Married to a Bedouin” happened to be selling her wares today. I was lucky to be able to meet and interview her.

Marguerite van Geldermalsen, author of the book "Married to a Bedouin” happened to be in Petra the day I was touring, selling jewelry and her book at a souvenir stand near the amphitheatre. I rode a camel over to her kiosk and interviewed her as a part of Equitrekking’s Jordan episode.

In 1978 Marguerite was traveling through Petra, when she met and fell in love with Bedouin Mohammad Abdallah. Marguerite was a 22-year-old New Zealander. She married and lived with Mohammad Abdallah for 25 years in a 2,000-year-old cave, birthing three children and learning Arabic. I have started reading her book. The book gives you an insider’s outsiders a perspective on Bedouin life in Petra, which was not easy, but certainly held simple joys and a real sense of community. Talking to Marguerite and hearing about her life in Petra, I was reminded of the Navajo who I rode with in Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. The Navajo who lived in Canyon de Chelly, herding sheep and farming, seemed to parallel the Bedouin in some ways. The Bedouin no longer live in caves in Petra and Marguerite’s husband passed in 2002. Speaking with her and starting her book, I’m certainly learning more about Bedouin culture and life in Jordan. Still the most I'm learning is by riding with the Bedouin throughout the country.

Learn more about visiting Petra on the Jordan Bedouin Trek & Classic Tour.

Darley Newman is the host of the Public Television series Equitrekking®, which takes viewers on horseback riding vacations around the world. Visit equitrekking.com and purchase Equitrekking DVDs, the Equitrekking Travel Adventures on Horseback book and more at ShopDarley.com.