The Monastery, or Ed Deir
Towns and Tourist Sites in
Jordan -
Ma'an, Petra, Baida and Wadi Mousa
The Monastery, or Ed Deir
Page 1 : Amman - Jerash
Page 2 : The Dead Sea, - Mount Nebo
Page 3 :
Madaba
Page 4 : The Kings' Highway, - Kerak, - Wadi
Mujib - Dana
Page 5 : Ma'an, - Petra - Wadi Mousa
Page 6 : Aqaba
I should like to draw your attention to a couple of maps : Map of the site of Petra - Map of the region around Wadi Mousa and Petra which you might find useful.
This is the principal town of central south Jordan, and is pretty well lacking in general interest for tourists - EXCEPT that there are very regular buses to and from Wadi Mousa/Petra which is some 30 kilometers away. So if you are unable to get a bus to Petra for any reason, or if you have just missed one, look for one for Ma'an - there is a bus from Aqaba for Ma'an, for instance, leaving at 6pm. You might be too late for a bus to Petra, but the standard taxi fare Ma'an-Petra is 8JD, which is a great improvement on taxi fares from most other places.
Petra
(You can see more photos of Petra on the
"Photo Gallery"
page)
One way of getting down to Petra
So
much has been written about this site that I don't quite
know where to begin or how much to say about it.
First of all, how to get there, and how to get away again! The centre of the village is the "Shaheed circle" that is shown in a photo in the page on Wadi Mousa. The buses used to arrive and leave from here, but there is now a bus station about 500 meters south not far from the main mosque. A policeman is posted here and hotel touts are very firmly discouraged. This of course is both good and bad! You aren't bothered by them, but you are left to find your own way to a hotel. Head backwards a bit, passing the mosque and you will be in the main village street, the Shaheed Circle is not far uphill from here. There are any number of cheap hotels around here - some of them are noticeably better than others, even though there is little difference in the price asked! There are some comments on hotels in Wadi Mousa a bit lower down.
We now have a daily service from Amman by JETT bus. This leaves the JETT office close to the Abdali area (any taxi would take you there) every morning at 6.30am and brings you to Petra. The fare is 6JD for a single ticket and 11JD for a return. This bus doesn't leave you at the bus station like the others, but goes straight down to the Visitors' Centre at the entrance to the site of Petra. If you thought that you would like to find a hotel first (there are no facilities for left luggage at the Visitors' Centre), then you are unlucky - the bus is not allowed to stop in the village for you even if you ask the driver nicely.
The bus returns to Amman at 4.30pm. If you don't already have a ticket you can buy one at Jeff's Bookshop in the line of shops between the ticket office and the entrance to the site. You can also get one on the bus if you haven't left yourself enough time - always supposing that there are seats available.
The importance of this bus is that it is the only public transport leaving Wadi Mousa/Petra after 2pm, and thus a day visit from Amman has become possible. The trip takes around 3 hours, so you would have some 6 hours to wander around. This lets you hit the high spots of the huge site, but no more. If you don't have time for a two day visit - well, this will give you a taste!
To get to Aqaba, there are buses at about 6.20am, at 7am, at 8am and at 4.15pm.
Wadi Rum : there is one direct bus a day, leaving Wadi Mousa in the early morning; ask your hotel to reserve your place (essential this time!) and the bus will pick you up. Be careful: this is a tourist bus, and the usual customs for buses do not apply to it. The procedure is that you ask your hotel to reserve your places on this bus which then comes to pick you up. Unfortunately there is no way to check ahead of time that this bus will run on any particular day. This depends, not only on the number of passengers coming from Petra, but on the number of people in Wadi Rum waiting to take the bus on its return trip. Often the driver only decides in the morning when he sees how many passengers he has in total. He will go for a minimum of 3 or 4 people. He might ask for a supplement in the fare (normal fare is 5JD) if there is a minimal number. Since your alternative is a taxi, you would surely do better to agree to this. The bus returns from Wadi Rum at 8.30 to 9am, arriving in Wadi Mousa around 11am.
If the bus doesn't go for whatever reason, then take a bus to Aqaba and get down at the junction to the road to Wadi Rum (tell the driver what you want) and try to hitch a lift. The distance is 30kms, and you may well be asked to pay - about 6JD is fair. If you have previously reserved with any of the guides in Wadi Rum, they may agree to come and fetch you for the same price. This is not necessarily the case during the high season when they are very busy. Obviously you would need to warn them either by phone or by SMS that you will need this service. The best thing is to call them the evening before.
You might like to look at the page entitled "Excursions from Petra : Humeima, Disseh and the north of the Wadi Rum area"
Ma'an : there are buses to and from Petra/Wadi Mousa to Ma'an almost every hour during the day until about 2 or 3pm. As I have said, Ma'an is the local transport centre and you can get to anywhere in Jordan fairly easily from here. Ma'an is 30kms or so from Wadi Mousa, fare is probably about 1 or 1 1/2JD. There are no direct buses from Ma'an to Wadi Rum, take a bus to Aqaba, get down at the Rashidiya Junction, sometimes called the Rum Intersection, and look for a lift as above.
The Royal Tombs
NOW FOR PETRA ITSELF AND WHERE TO STAY NEARBY
The Petra entrance fee is now : one day 21JD, two days 26JD, three or four days 31JD, with half price for children under 10. There is no longer a reduction for student cards.
I have just given the entrance fee for children under ten. This seems a good moment to point out that Petra is BIG and very strung out. Even a short visit rrequires walking for four or five kilometers, and a full day noticeably more. This is hard going for young children. Rather than cutting your visit short, I advise you to take a carriage to get down to Petra and as soon as you are in front of the Khazneh, then look for a donkey to hire with one of the Bedouin boys to lead it! It is likely to cost you about 10-15JD for the day, but it will carry two children with no great problem, even up the steps to the Monastery.
"Petra by night" is organised on two nights a week, Mondays and Thursdays if there is enough demand. If a lot of people are interested the organisers might add a third (or a fourth!) night. You walk down the Siq, lit by candlelight to the Khazneh, where a explanation of the site will be given, tea will be served and there is usually a short concert of Arab music. The entrance fee for this is 15JD over and above the entrance ticket to Petra which you must also have.
You must reserve ahead of time either at the Visitors' Centre, at the Bedwina Travel Agency, the Petra Moon Travel Agency or the Zaman Travel Agency. You can also go through your hotel (paying the usual commission). The trip leaves the Visitors' Centre at 8.30pm (arrive in time to register) and returns at around 10.30pm.
During the season this trip is very popular indeed. The great attraction, of course, is the moonlit or candlelit walk, talking is discouraged, and the atmosphere in the Siq is something special.
Before I start to talk about hotels, I should warn you that I have had a great number of complaints about the "tours to Wadi Rum" organised by hotels in Wadi Mousa/Petra. Hotels are no longer allowed to organise these tours, so instead of taking you to Wadi Rum and the Bedouin tours and camps there, a number of them will take you to the neighbouring village of Disseh, where there are a some large camps (sleeping often more than a hundred a night) specially for tourists. These camps are run by people from outside: from Aqaba, Wadi Mousa, Amman and even Madaba. Their trips around do NOT take you into the Protected Area of Wadi Rum - whatever you might be told. You will most certainly not see an authentic Bedouin camp, and you will probably not see any Bedouin from the local tribes. I
If you are told that the morning bus to Wadi Rum is not running and that the hotel "will organise something for you", be on your guard immediately! If you do not pass through the new Visitors' Centre, then you are heading for Disseh!
See the Wadi Rum page on "ripping off" and see also the page on "Excursions from Petra : Disseh"
Not all the hotels do this, there are some honourable exceptions mentioned below, and it is up to you to avoid this scam. I have given full details of how to book tours in Wadi Rum.
The entrance to Petra is something less than a mile from the village of Wadi Mousa where most of the cheaper hotels are to be found. Close to the entrance, the only remotely cheap hotels are the Sunset and the Petra Moon. The Sunset is the more primitive of the two, it is one of the earliest hotels built after the explosion of tourism in Petra in 1995. The Petra Moon is a two star hotel, much the same type as the Mariam in Madaba (but without Charly!) They have a website at www.petramoonhotel.com their email is info@petramoonhotel.com their telephone/fax number is +962.3.215.6220. You can also try the Silk Road Hotel, the prices are much the same and they are offer all the advantages as the Petra Moon. Their email is petrasilkroad@hotmail.com, phone +962.3.215.7222 fax +962.3.215.7244. For a slightly more expensive hotel nearby, you have the Petra Palace website http://www.petrapalace.com.jo/ and email ppwnwm@go.com.jo, a comfortable three-star hotel with a bar and a swimming pool. There is also a large selection of souvenir shops, cafés and restaurants around here. You might like to look at the page on "Souvenirs" which talks about a few of the shops.
Higher up in the village of Wadi Mousa, the best cheap hotel at the moment is probably the Alanbat Two, but the Cleopetra (locally known as "Kilopetra") a bit higher up the hill is also worth looking at, email cleopetra_h@hotmail.com +962 3 2157090 (their Wadi Rum trips really DO go to Wadi Rum!) . There are two good hotels a mile or so further up, the Alanbat One and the Mousa Spring, which are the oldest hotels in the valley. The Alanbat One in particular has a beautiful view and is very good when it is hot. It also offers a site for campers with a private kitchen and balcony. It also has a small swimming pool and a Turkish Bath. The only problem here is that with these added facilities the Alanbat One has increased its prices quite drastically, and a double room now costs 35JD which puts it out of the backpackers' league and to the top of the "family hotel" category. Moreover, these extra facilities are not always available during the winter. However they are often willing to bargain out of the high season. The Alanbat Hotels have a website at http://www.alanbat.com email info@alanbat.com) Mousa Spring is mostly a backpacker's hotel, but if you keep that in mind it offers good value for money. Both Alanbat One (and Alanbat Two) and Mousa Spring offer free transport to and from Petra, but if you would like to wander around the village in the evening (shops and coffee shops) you will do better further down. You are pretty well isolated if you stay up there.
Petra itself : You absolutely need a good guide book to visit Petra without a guide, but you can find some information on the web page "A walk around Petra". There are also a great many walks and scrambles off the main tracks, down in the site. You might think that it is full of tourists......
 |
 |
|
...but in
fact, if you leave the valley bottom it is very easy to find
yourself alone. |
|
DO NOT WANDER TOO FAR, AND RESPECT THE ADVICE NOT TO PASS CERTAIN POINTS WITHOUT AN OFFICIAL GUIDE. You can often substitute one of the Bedouin children or young men for an official guide (they know the terrain very well indeed and are much cheaper!), but all too often helicopters have had to be called out to find tourists who have been a bit too intrepid. It is truly very easy indeed to get lost around here. One would think that with Jebel Haroun on the horizon it is impossible, but believe me, it's not! For the same reason, if you are visiting Petra alone and have ideas about wandering off the beaten track, it is a good idea to make sure that somebody has at least a vague idea of where you are planning to go.
Those visiting Petra in the winter should know that in rain or snow, access to Petra is not allowed. There have been a number of flash floods lately, so far there have been no more tourist deaths, but the authorities still remember 1963 [when a group of French tourists was swept away by a flash flood in the Siq, and 23 of them were drowned], and prefer to play safe. If you are in Amman or somewhere, and are planning to come to Petra when the rain starts, get your hotel to call the Visitors' Centre (03.215.7433) to check the position. I can't tell you just how likely it is that you will be caught out like this, it depends entirely on the weather, and as I have already said elsewhere, years differ considerably. It is difficult for the authorities, since it doesn't actually need to be raining in Wadi Mousa before a flash flood descends. In April 2001, there was a very nasty one that came down in two separate waves from El Hai in the mountains, while at that moment in Wadi Mousa there was only a light drizzle. During 2001 a great deal of work was done in the mountains, erecting coffer dams, and we shall hope that this problem will become rare.
 |
Close to Petra you have the beautiful semi-desert area of "Baïda" ("the white") - see also the Photo Gallery page on Baida. Many people visit "Little Petra" here, there is (or there was last November) usually a shuttle bus leaving from in front of the main mosque in the village. Little Petra, which I like to think of as a sort of suburb of Petra itself, is something that everybody enjoys, especially as the 10 mile or so drive to get there goes through spectacular country. While you are there, be sure to have a look at the Nabatean cisterns, which now store up the winter rains for the use of the Bedouin during the summer. It is most impressive to think that they are still being put to use. Nearby is also the Neolithic village, which is supposed to be the oldest site discovered where men actually cultivated the soil. It has been dated from 7000BC. A bit further away from the main road is a stone winepress! This shows just how fertile this region must have been two thousand years ago. By no means all of the drivers know of this winepress, and it is a fair way "in" from the main road anyway.
If you can find somebody who knows this area well, you are in luck. If not, and if you have the time (and the money!) it would be well worth employing a guide for the day to take you around here. It is not as spectacularly beautiful as Wadi Rum - at least not until you get to the edge of Wadi Araba, and can look down into the Rift Valley - but that still leaves plenty of scope for it to be beautiful anyway. Dedicated hikers would be in heaven here. There are many trails, all of them completely unmapped - and all of them unsignposted! The price of an official guide for a day's hiking is 60JD but this can often be "negotiated" according to the season. Obviously, you would want to gather as large a group as you can, but PLEASE do not try to go off exploring without somebody who knows the area! An excellent and highly experienced guide for Petra, not just for hiking, is Mohammed Hasanat (email explorerone69@yahoo.com, cell phone 0795.603.114 or +962.795.603.114 from outside Jordan) (See note above about the possibility of a Bedouin guide). If you are interested, you might like to look at the page on "Trekking in Jordan" in the "Jordan out of doors" section. There is also a page on "Hiking in the Petra area"
There are also a few people who, while not official guides and not qualified to accompany hikers, are nevertheless accustomed to taking tourists into the "wild places", such as Baïda, Wadi Araba or Dana and to organising overnight bivouacs. While here again their charges should be negotiated, they would ask for less than would an official guide. Try looking for Ibrahim Asri Hamadeen at 0795.411.546, Ahmed Shaban, 0777.728.767. email ahmed_rum86@yahoo.com or Rebhi Hassanat at 0795.663.410.
This is the village nearest to the site of Petra, and hence the official destination of buses and so forth going there. There was a movement a year or so ago to change the official name of the village to "Petra", but this was quashed by the government. In many ways it would have simplified life for the visitor.
It has been pointed out that I haven't mentioned any restaurants in Petra! Absolutely right, it never even occurred to me. To be honest, I so seldom eat in restaurants that I don't really know many to recommend. However, the Red Cave, near to the entrance to Petra, is very nice, and the food is good. This is an upmarket restaurant for Wadi Mousa, and where I am very occasionally invited by Ibrahim Hassanat! The big hotel restaurants are mostly fairly bland and monotonous. The restaurants in the village seem quite acceptable, most of them serve the local dishes : mansaff, maglouba, galaya... [See the "Food" page when it's ready!]
There is
a most interesting initiative by the Petra Moon Travel Agency which has started a
scheme called "Petra Kitchen". This is basically a cookery school for those
wanting to learn how to make Arab dishes. In their publicity they say
"We have a
group of local women here in Petra who have decided to take the big step outside
the homes and work with our guests each night, demonstrating and helping them
prepare a tasty assortment of local dishes. The work is done under the
supervision of our chef, but the guests themselves will do the convivial tasks
of preparing the dishes, cooking the meal and even setting the tables for dinner....
We’ve put together a number of different evening menus, all of which include a
soup, a good assortment of salads and hot/cold mezza and a popular local main
course such as mensaf, magluba, suwanee, kofta and other dishes one might
encounter if invited to a family home for a meal. We’ll also show our guests
how to prepare Bedouin tea, Turkish coffee and some herbal teas during the
evening."
The experience costs 30JD
which includes the cookery
course, meal and
all non-alcoholic beverages as well as take-home recipes for all dishes prepared
that evening.
You can find out more about this from kitchen@petramoon.com
(phone/fax 03.215.5700)
or see the page Petra Kitchen here.
Petra Moon Travel Agency has also a showroom, something between a gallery and a souvenir shop called "Made in Jordan" which displays high class artisanal merchandise, all of it made in Jordan, many under the sponsorship of such organisations as the Noor Al Hussein Foundation and the Jordan River Foundation. Their phone is 03.215.5700. You can see all of this in the line of shops near to Petra, just beside the Sandcastle shop. The ground floor has the kitchen and the showroom is upstairs. (See also the page "Made in Jordan" on this website)
Night life? Um... The Cave Bar of the Guesthouse (right alongside the entrance to Petra) is just about the only place that is on occasion a hot spot. If there is a big group of tourists staying at the hotel, there is often dancing until midnight, sometimes even later! (My goodness!) If you check there, they have a "programme" which will tell you the nights that something is scheduled
For a quiet drink in the evening, I usually go to the Crown Plaza Hotel where the terrace beside the pool outside has a lovely view of the sunset over the Petra mountains and down to the beginning of the Siq (just visible if one knows exactly where to look). This is quite popular with the local tourist guides, who often congregate here in the evening and talk shop with each other or with visiting guides accompanying groups. If there is a "pool barbecue" the terrace is crowded and noisy and in that case I make for the Roof Garden Bar of the Mövenpick Hotel nearby. Few locals go there but it is very pleasant.
Beer and alcohol : there is no "liquor" shop in Wadi Mousa. The bigger hotels have bars, a few of the smaller ones and a couple of coffee shops serve beer and wine (but since they don't always have a permit to do so, I am not naming them here!) You can buy beer, wine or alcohol from all of these hotels, usually at bar prices (!) - if you ask a few of the locals, you will be directed quickly to the non-licensed places where you can find what you want. Again I warn you that you will be charged more than in the specialised shops elsewhere. Incidentally, one of the best places to buy beer is the Mövenpick, you don't always think of asking one of the most expensive hotels for take-away beer, but it's noticeably cheaper there than in the small hotels in the village. However, it is much better if you stock up before you arrive in Wadi Mousa.
Swimming pools : the following hotels have swimming pools : the Crown Plaza, the Mövenpick, the Petra Palace, the Alanbat One and the Golden Tulip, which is a hotel pretty far from the village and above the Mousa Spring Hotel. Non-guests can use all of these for a fee. There is also a pool at Taibeh Zaman, but this is some distance from Petra.
While I am talking about the village, I must mention the Salome Turkish Bath, which is definitely something to visit, especially after a hot and exhausting day down in Petra. Last I heard the price was 18JD, but believe me, it's worth it, if only for the massage afterwards. It is very pleasant, most attractively decorated, and a delightful place to "chill out", if you go in for chilling out. It is almost opposite the Alanbat Two Hotel in the centre of the village, but if you ask your hotel, Salome will send somebody to pick you up. Single women shouldn't hesitate here, they will have no trouble at all.
Internet in Wadi Mousa : my favourite place for Internet is the Petra Internet café near the Shaheed Circle, just opposite to the Rashid Hotel. It's not the cheapest around, but gives by far the best service. I always find that I can do as much in 15 minutes there as in an hour in the cheaper ones, and without the same frustration! It also has a very attractive "lounging area".
I don't think there is much more to say than what I have already said about Petra. Besides hotels and restaurants/coffee shops, there are sufficient banks, drugstores and ATMs, to serve most people's needs. There are also plenty of taxis, etc. For trips outside of "the Wadi", as Wadi Mousa is generally known in Jordan, bargain hard. There are "official" prices, but since the price of petrol has been increased sharply twice since the official prices were set, almost nobody respects them - fairly understandably, actually.
If you are looking for a reliable (and honest) taxi driver, then call "Abu Rami" at 0777.416.772 or +962.777.416.772 (fax +962.3.203.2651) from outside Jordan. He can meet you at airports etc and his prices are on the modest side.
And if you are travelling in a small party, Yussef Salamin owns a minibus seating 8 people and has a licence to drive tourists anywhere in Jordan. He speaks good English, knows the tourist sites and how to get to them and is very reliable. He is also a nice guy! His phone number is +962.795.596.288 and his fax is +962.3.215.6466. Charly at the Mariam Hotel in Madaba (see mariamhotel.com) could also arrange this for you.
You can read more about the non-tourist aspects of Wadi Mousa on the page about it in the "Meet the People" section.
You might also like to look at the web page entitled "Excursions from Petra : Humeima, Disseh and the north of the Wadi Rum area"
Acknowledgements
I should like to thank Todd Bolen of Moshav Yad HaShmonah, D.N. Harei Yehuda, Israel for the use of his beautiful photos of the Monastery, the Royal Tombs and the Tomb wall from www.bibleplaces.com. Many thanks for this, Todd!
"JORDANJUBILEE" is now available as a book, which is much more convenient for reference if you are travelling around. You can buy it online if you wish by clicking on our securized site, or it is on sale in a number of places in Jordan
Page 1 : Amman - Jerash
Page 2 : The Dead Sea, - Mount Nebo
Page 3 :
Madaba
Page 4 : The Kings' Highway, - Kerak, - Wadi
Mujib - Dana
Page 5 : Ma'an, - Petra - Wadi Mousa
Page 6 : Aqaba
©Ruth Caswell 2002