Jordan March 31

I went to a presentation of "Petra by Night", last night. You walk about 2 km, of which about half is the Siq, which is the narrow canyon leading to the Treasury, the main attraction in Petra. The way is lit by candles along the walk. I brought a flashlight which helped greatly. The front of the Treasury is also lit by numerous candles. It is quite a magical setting. You are in an opening, almost the size of a football field, surrounded by sheer cliffs over a hundred feet high, towering above. The sky was clear, stars shining brightly.

An Arab started to play a beautiful melody on a flute. At the end they illuminated the facade of the Treasury.

It wasn't cheap, nothing in Jordan, and especially Petra is. The evening walk was 34$, entrance to Petra is 100$, for one day, 110$ for a two day pass. Those prices are for tourists that are staying in Jordan. For day visitors to Petra, mostly tour groups from Israel the fee is 180$, for a day visit.

Since the Syrian war tourism has taken a real hit. Tourism is one of the main sources of income for the country. In 2010 there were 8 million tourist visits, in 2015 it had dropped to 3.7 million.

My driver from Madaba told me that he used to drive this route 15 times a month, in high season, now it's 2 or 3 times.

Jordan is an interesting country of contrasts. You can drive for miles, and see nothing but uninhabited desert, then you come to a spring, or river, and suddenly everything is green.

This is one of the driest countries in the world. Water consumption, per capita, is one tenth of what it is in North America. One tenth, think about it, how often would you flush the toilet? I'm doing my bit, only one shower so far.

Jordan has a population of 9.5 million. This includes 2 million Palestine refugees, escaping from the West Bank, and 1.4 million Syrian refugees since 2010. It's laughable when we look at the fuss because Canada accepted 25000 this year.

I have decided on a day of rest today. I didn't get back from Petra till 11, and had a shower, did some laundry. I was thinking about going to visit Petra today, but it's a 5 am wake up, so I am going tomorrow; one of the nice thing about my flexible schedule. I was talking to some tourists at my hotel in Madaba, and they only had one day at Petra, and it was last Monday, and it was cold and rained all day. What a shame.

I did walk into town, Wadi Musa, nice hike, like walking from downtown Hamilton up the mountain. Fortunately the weather is nice, 21 and sunny.

Wadi Musa seems more conservative. In Madaba a lot of women were on the street. Here it's mostly men. There is no mixing of the sexes. The only time a man and a woman are seen together, it is a married couple. 

I did encounter my first beggar, a women in a black burka holding a baby. It could have been a doll, because there was no sound or movement. She was heading to the entrance to Petra. A lot of scams in this town.

Food is expensive, a medium pizza is 15$. 2 oranges and 2 small bananas, 4$. And that's at a local market.

Also, thanks for the feedbacks. Thanks to Carl I now know that, because I didn't become a shepherd, there are a lot of happier sheep out there.