Day 5 - Petra
Early on Day 5, we left Eilat for Jordan. The border was just two or three kilometers and a world away. The border crossing took about forty-five minutes. We could not take our car, so we left it parked in a small lot at the Israel customs area. It was another beautiful day, sunny and perfect temperature, so we did not mind standing outside. The processing was done from one window to the next and soon we were allowed to cross the border.
Day 1 Jerusalem
Day 2 Jerusalem
Day 3 Jerusalem
Day 4 Dead Sea
Day 5 Petra
Day 6 Gaza
(Above) On the road in Jordan from Acaba to Petra
I have crossed borders before, but this was the first time it was across a minefield. A paved road the length of a football field separated the Israeli border guards from the Jordanian. On both sides was a fence that was posted with a sign warning of mines.
The Jordanian border officials were quite friendly, as was true of everyone we met in Jordan. We grabbed a cab from the border to Acaba, a short ride. In the town square of Acaba were cabs that could be hired for the day to Petra and back, a drive of about two hours in each direction.
Our driver was named Rushdi, but he was quick to point out with a smile that his first name was not Salman (the Islamic author with a bounty on his head for writing the Satanic Verses).
As we drove through the Jordan dessert on what turned out to be a fairly modern road, we passed many transfer trucks. In fact, the trucks outnumbered cars by ten to one. As we did, Rushdi pointed out the ones with Iraqi tags and there were many. These trucks must drive to the port in Jordan since the US has bombed theirs.
Here, the paradox struck me of traveling as an American with people who liked us passing trucks from a country with whom we were recently at war and whom we periodically bomb. Welcome to the Middle East.
(Above) The path from the visitor's center to Petra