Petra Part 2

I covered the first part of my Petra adventure here:

https://www.kirkstravelstories.com/post/petra-part-1

To this point, I had already walked and climbed about 4 miles. I know to some of you reading this that this is nothing and you do it every day. But I do not, especially on hard rock service. Walking or jogging, or even just standing on rock is the worst thing for my arthritic back. For that reason, I don't walk as an exercise, I ride a bike or glider because it is low impact.

So now I am 4 miles into my adventure and I know I have to walk the same route back. But also there lies a very steep climb up to my final destination in Petra, the Monastery.

On the route I pass a number of locals displaying their goods for sale:

What amazes me about these local markets in tourist areas is they all sell the same things! No one stands out with anything unique. Most the stuff is just touristy junk with no intrinsic value. I usually walk by and look, but I ignore the same trite call, "come buy here, cheap!" But they're all the same price.

After I pass the constant tables of vendors I came across one of many donkey taxis. I had now reached my final destination: The Monastery.

The Monastery is located high on the rock hill. There are steps carved into the stone for easier access, but it is a long, steep climb. After my 3.5 mile walk, and knowing I must repeat this walk back, I opted to rent the beast of burden along with the local guide.

The guide simply walks the donkey up the steps to the top with me in the saddle. This young boy does this several times each day, mostly for tips, I think, as I don't think he is paid or paid much by the donkey owner

There are approximately 850 steps to reach the Monastary. That's about 849 more than I was willing to climb at this point. I paid the initial fee and we were off to the top.

I'm really not sure if the donkey is burdened by the climb or not, he made it effortlessly, but I felt bad all the way up as he had to carry me as well. The boy made it with ease.

A view as I climbed:

Finally we reached the top of these 850 steps to this magnificent carved structure:

The Monastery is called Ad Deir in the Arabic pronunciation. It is the second most visited building behind the Treasury. It's equally as impressive to the Treasury, just more difficult to access.

This was thought to be built almost 2,000 years ago for religious purposes. It was repurposed for the Christian religion later.

The building is huge at well over 100 feet wide and high. Hard to imagine working that high up on these rocks to carve it. I don't think OSHA was around then to count the deaths by falling and force appropriate remedies!

It is possible to get a better view and photos by climbing the rocks opposite the structure:

I finished my Petra journey here. Then I walked down those 850 steps and then the 3+ mile walk out to the through the exit gorge and eventually to my rental car.

Bye, bye Petra!