As the magical city carved into rock, Petra is the must see attraction in Jordan. It just also happens to be the place that Indiana Jones visited in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” to obtain the Holy Grail. With this in mind we had to see it with our own eyes. Since the trip south from Amman is only supposed to take about 3 hours, we headed for the bus terminal in the early afternoon.
ヨルダンで外せない観光地ペトラ。世界遺産にも登録された、砂漠の中の岩に囲まれた幻の街。インディージョーンズ/最後の聖戦のロケ地にもなったこの遺跡は、とってもミステリアスな印象で、ぜひこの目で見てみたいと思っていた。ヨルダン南部にあるペトラは、アンマンからバスで約3時間と聞いていたので、昼過ぎにアンマンのバスターミナルへ向かった。
The planned short trip turned into a trial, and a long one. We arrived at the bus terminal only to find that the bus to Petra was full. No problem, we will just wait for the next one, we thought. Just then, we were approached by a group of red-clad, Russian bicycle riders (a family and their friend) who wondered if we didn’t want to share a wagon to Petra instead. Because the price was the same as that for the bus (5 Jordan Dinar, or about USD 8~9), we willingly agreed. When we got to the wagon it appeared that aside from the Russians there were 2 Jordanians who were to join the trip. And before we could get going we learned that aside from the Russians’ bicycles, one of the Jordanians scooters had to be put up on the roof. We laughed, but it turned out that these guys really planned to take this scooted on the top of this rickety old Toyota wagon, together with the Russians’ bicycles-no laughing matter. There followed the predictable mayhem and at least one broken scooter taillight. During this comical interlude, Esshie took the chance to see what the situation was with the Russians by talking with the mother. Turns out this troupe (parents and a 10~11-year-old girl) was bicycling from Syria to Egypt by bicycle, but because young boys and teenagers in Jordan are want to throw stones and other missiles at cyclists (classy huh), they smartly decided to move by mini-bus. The thing is, we were told, that such hooliganism only occurs in Jordan, and not in Syria or Egypt. Go figure.
それにしてもペトラまでの道のりは長かった、というか疲れた。バスターミナルに着くと、ペトラ方面行のバスがちょうど満席になってしまったところで、次のバスを待つつもりでいた。すると真っ赤な3人乗り自転車で旅をしているロシア人親子とその友達から、ワゴン車をシェアしてペトラに行かないかと聞かれた。値段を聞けばバスと同じ5ヨルダンディナール（8～9ドル）だったので、快諾。ワゴン車のあるところに行ってみると、ロシア人たち以外にヨルダン人が2人乗るらしい。すぐに出発するかと思えば、ロシア人の自転車以外に大きなスクーターをこのぼろワゴン車の上に乗せようとしている。冗談か とおもったけど、本当に乗せようとしている。作業中はテールランプが車の外装とぶつかって割れたりして、もう目も当てられない状態。男たちがスクーターを車の上に乗せようとしている間、ロシア人の母親と話をした。彼女は、夫と娘（10～11歳くらい）と一緒にシリア、ヨルダン、エジプトを自転車で旅行しているけれど、ヨルダンでは自転車で移動していると子供や若者たちが石を投げつけてくるから、娘が怖がるし、危ないのでヨルダンの移動は仕方なく車にしたのよ、と言っていた。シリアやエジプトではそんなこと全くなかったのに、なぜかヨルダンの子供や若者は石を投げてくるという。
????
In the end, the comical interlude turned into a full dramatic act, as we did not get underway until at least an hour later. Trouble didn’t end there either. The driver was something of a nut case, driving like a 4-year-old with a new trike. Can’t count how many times we came this close…. Driving in the opposite lane like nobody’s business, passing on blind curves, coming within inches of oncoming cars, you name it, and this clown did it. Now fearing for our lives, we complained, only to be told after turning on the interior light that “I no drinking the whiskey, so no worries, heh heh”. And then after shouting that it is particularly stupid to be driving at night with the interior light on, we were told, “I am driver, you have some problem?”, and continued at our reckless speed. Then the kicker: despite the certifiable driving, after arriving over 2 hours late thank to repeated long, unexplained stops and antics with the removing of the scooter, the driver had the gall to ask for a “tip”. Why hadn’t we just waited for the next mini-bus?
結局1時間近くも待ったあと、やっとワゴンが出発。でも運転手にかなり問題ありだった。とにかく運転が粗すぎる。本当に何度も死ぬかと思った。1車線なのに反対車線をビュンビュン飛ばして走ったり、先の見えない急カーブで前の車を追い越そうとして反対車線の車とぶつかりそうになったり・・・。本当に危なかった時に文句を言うと、車内灯をつけて「ウィスキー飲んでないから安心しろ、ケッケッケ」と笑い、危ないから車内灯を消してくれというと「俺が運転手だ、文句あるか！」と逆切れし、さらにスピードを出す始末。しかも、意味のない休憩を何度も取ったり、今度はスクーターを下ろすのに時間をとられ、ペトラに着いたのが予定より2時間近くおそくなった。その上到着すると、運転手は「チップくれ」と言ってきた。こんなことなら、次のバスを待つんだった・・・。
The next day did come though, and on it we visited the archaeological site of Petra. Petra is the former capital of the Nabataeans, and is over 2000 years old. It flourished as an important place on ancient trade routes until around the 2nd Century AD under Roman rule. In modern Jordan it is “the” spot for tourists. The actual site covers a very wide area, and it takes full day, from early morning until evening to do properly the whole thing.
次の日、ペトラ遺跡へ。ペトラは2000年以上前に築かれた古代ナバタイ人の首都で、その昔は貿易の要所として栄えていたらしい。現在はヨルダンに来る観光客はおそらく必ず訪れる、超人気観光スポット。遺跡自体は非常に広いエリアに散らばっているので、朝から夕方まで1日かけてみて回った。
Road to Petra/ペトラへの道
The ancient city lies in a basin of mountains and is surrounded by towering rock cliffs. Indeed, the “entrance” to the actual ancient city covers a narrow, winding trail between rock faces cut by a river for over 1.5 Km, the so-called Siq. It is surreal. But also very interesting since much of the cobblestone roadway and waterworks remains. And then, all of the sudden, the Siq ends and you come face to face with what was the treasury, the best preserved of facades cut into the rock, the pink-coloured masterpiece that features in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
都市の遺跡は大きな岩に囲まれていて、入口から都市があった場所までは、巨岩に挟まれ曲がりくねった細い道（シーク）を1.5キロほど歩く。シークの両側は絶壁で、とても非現実的な空間。所々に石畳の道や水路が残っているのが興味深い。そしてシークが終わると、ピンク色の岩壁に掘りこまれた宝殿、エル・ハズネが突然その姿をどーんと表す。これは本当にドラマチックで感動！インディージョーンズに出てくるのもこのエル・ハズネ。こりゃー、映画に使いたくなるのもわかるよー。
Siq/シーク
The Treasury: looks familiar, don’t it/この宝殿、見覚えあるでしょ？
Don’t remember these guys from the film/この兵士たちは映画で見なかったけど
Now, where could that Holy Grail have got to?/聖杯はどこかな～？
As you proceed farther, numerous other rock cut facades (many of them tombs) lining the cliffs come into view. There are also not a few Bedouin people about, a people who at one time used to inhabit this area. Most now sell souvenirs or tout for horse, donkey, or camel rides; there are, however, a few of the younger Bedouins do still appear to be living a truly nomadic lifestyle. We then noticed some stone steps leading up a cliff face and decided to ascend and check out the view. It seemed to take forever, but after about an hour or so we finally reached the top. There, looking down at all the cave-like tombs, we had lunch. We then proceeded down along the backside, and after taking in a rock-cut, Roman era tomb of the Unknown Soldier and some temples, we made down to the base. From there we had even more walking to do through the valley circuit wherein the remains of various large temples are found. We were quite pooped at this point, but somehow we summoned all of our remaining energy and were able to make a final ascent to the royal tombs, and called it a day. We had already been walking for over 5 hours, and though we were finished, we did not relish the long, very long walk back….
どんどん奥に入っていくと、他にも岩に彫りこまれたお墓などがずらりと並んでいる。ベドウィンと呼ばれる遊牧民族が遺跡のあちこちにいる。元々ここに住んでいた人たちだ。ほとんどがお土産を売ったり、馬車やラクダ、ロバの客引きしているが、なかにはただ遊びまわっている子供たちもいる。ふと見ると階段が上の方に向かっているので景色でも見ようかと登っていくと、いつまでたっても終わらない。どんどん登って結局1時間くらい上り続けて高い岩のてっぺんまで来てしまった。岩窟墳墓群を下に見ながら、見晴らしのいいところでお昼ご飯。そこから裏側へと階段を降りていき、ローマ兵士の墓や神殿跡などを見ながら麓へ下りた。そこからまたかなり歩いて巨大な神殿跡や回廊通りを見て回る。この時点でもうくたくた。でも最後の力を振り絞り、王家の墓へと上り、終了。朝から5時間以上は歩き続けていたので、帰りの道のりはかなりつらかった・・・。
Good price, just for you/客待ち中のラクダ
Petra’s modern Bedouin/現代ペトラの遊牧民族
Not much farther now…./もうすぐかな….
Not a bad spot/休憩スポット
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier/ローマ兵士の墓
Lots of tombs to go around here/ペトラにはお墓が多い
I must’ve smelt like cheese or something ’cause this guy just wouldn’t let me be/ヤギちゃんダンが好きみたい
I’ll say one thing about those ancient Romans: they did good roadwork
ここでも、ローマ時代の道路がきれいに残ってる！
Now that’s a temple/神殿。でかい！
Royal Tombs: check those wacky colours/素晴らしい色と模様の王家の墓内部
Can we go home now?/もう帰っていい？
As an aside, the hotels near the actual archaeological site of Petra are, unsurprisingly, all high-class hotels, and, as such, we had to stay in the nearby town of Wadi Musa, a few kilometers away. Many like-minded travelers use Wadi Musa as a base for Petra. And the people of Wadi know this well: prices for everything from hotels, restaurants, convenience stores, taxis, Internet cafes, etc. are at least 2~3 times more than the capital, Amman. It’s too bad then that the level of quality or of service does not follow suit. Both are often much worse. The whole town is run as a kind of cartel, with everybody squeezing as much as they can from the one and only attraction in the area. Indeed, in the town itself one hotel has a monopoly on all alcohol sold, translating to an almost criminal 5 Jordanian Dinar (USD 8~9) for a bad local beer. Top this off with the fact that the only things on offer at our hotel besides cold showers were two cockroaches and (yet again) bed bugs, and you get an idea of the place.
ちなみに、ペトラ遺跡の近くには高級ホテルしかないので、私たちは遺跡から数キロ離れたワディ・ムーサという町に泊まった。ペトラに来る旅行者の多くがこの町をペトラ観光のベースにする。ワディ・ムーサのホテル、レストラン、雑貨屋、タクシー、インターネット屋の値段は首都アンマンの2～3倍。だからサービスやホテルのレベルが2～3倍いいかというと、そうではない。アンマン並み、あるいはそれ以下。町自体も何の特徴もないし、ペトラに近いというだけで値段だけ高いのはおかしいので、町全体で闇カルテルでも結んでいるに違いない。ちなみにお酒を売っているのは1軒のホテルだけで、ビールが一本5JD（約8～9ドル）もする！ホテルの部屋ではゴキブリ2匹と南京虫にご対面。ペトラは素晴らしかったけれど、ワディ・ムーサには本当にガッカリだ。