Today was Petra. Just Petra. It is difficult to find words to express in words what one feels walking around the ruins of this city. People who carved their houses and temples in the rock did it in a spectacular way.
Today I wandered the paths less traveled, thanks to which I avoided the crowds. I walked slowly, often stopping and admiring the beautiful places. At some point I was approached by a Bedouin woman selling various trinkets at the stall, which are plenty here. There was something about her that made me sit down for a moment and ask for tea. Standard 1 dinar 😅 (at the end she said that I'm different from the rest of the tourists, I'm like a Bedouin and I got tea as a gift)
We sat talking, there were few tourists passing by, so it was good to sit. At some point, the woman began to play the pipe and then sing. We talked about various topics, including about polygamy. I asked if she would have a problem if her husband had a second wife and if she wouldn't be jealous. She replied that no, after all, the second wife would live in a separate house and the husband would live with one and then with the other. However, she said that it would be a problem if the husband had a mistress. Then she would have a problem with it. Interesting approach 😊 For me, it's not much different except that it's official. However, the mentality of these people is completely different.
I moved on, admiring other places. When I went down to the center of Petra, I saw a crowd so I took a side path towards the exit. It was a wonderful day full of delights and beautiful moments.
Before me, however, was a task to perform and to confront the mentality of the local police, but not only. I'm running out of visa and phone subscription, so taking advantage of the fact that I'm in the city, I decided to settle the matter.
From the very beginning, I asked various people if I could extend my visa at the police, everyone confirmed that 2-3 days before the expiry of the deadline I should go to any police station and I could easily extend my stay. Today, however, everything got complicated. At the beginning, someone advised me to arrange it at the tourist police station at the entrance to Petra. It was even logical. Since there is such a department and I am a tourist, maybe they will help me. So I went into an officer's office, described the problem, and asked if he could fix it. He replied - Yes
It went smoothly, I thought, but my joy was premature. The officer called someone because it turned out that he did not understand English and that he knew only one word, he spoke it. The man who came explained to him what he needed and it turned out that I had to go to a normal police station. We had to go 2km uphill but of course the taxi drivers were very willing to help me. Only that for two kilometers they wanted 6 dinars (about PLN 40). I got a little offended and tottered up the hill. At the police station, I found myself again in an officer's office and, on a comfortable armchair, explained what I expected from him. Here the problem was similar so more policemen appeared and together we determined what was going on. Unfortunately, this police station could not extend my visa. They directed me to Ma'an or to Aqaba where I can settle the matter. Maan is the equivalent of a provincial capital, so I have to go there tomorrow. So it turned out that the visa cannot be extended at any police station. If you want to do this, you will have to visit the Police Department in a big city like Amman, Irbid, Ma'an or Aqaba. Today I lost to the bureaucracy but I am calm. Everything will be fine tomorrow
The phone had to be dealt with. I went to a phone shop and we fought with the seller for half an hour to get the top-up to pass. I think it worked, there was a top-up amount on the account, so let's hope that it will be renewed in two days.
Jordan Trail day 28
Stage: Ma'an (off-trail)
Distance: I walked about 15km around the city but I don't include it in the total distance
Total distance: 685km
01:04 Little Petra - Petra trail
03:25 Ad-Dair route - Petra - Wadi-Musa
03:53 Ad-Deir (Monastery)
07:24 Wadi Musa
08:19 As-Siq
10:28 Al-Khazneh (The Treasury)
11:25 Amphitheater
12:50 Place of Sacrifice
14:16 Triclinium
14:50 Tomb of the Roman Soldier
16:30 Quasr Al-Bint Firaun (Pharaoh's daughter's palace)
16:40 Great Temple
18:00 Royal Tombs
20:00 Amphitheater
20:22 As-Siq
22:28 Wadi Musa
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/ wibracjezycia
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