Book 3/3 of Matters Dheghōm.
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Bonus Matter: Strange and EnigmaticMatter 35.5 Summary Strange and Enigmatic
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●●●●○ Strange and Enigmatic “The hues of youth upon a brow of woe, which Man deemed old two thousand years ago” - John William Burgon Petra is enormous. It was a city, after all. You need at least two days. I was there for three. Get a Jordan Pass. Buy it online, it’s good value. It’s only really valid for one entry to Petra. No-one checks, though. No-one cares. Wear proper shoes. Don’t be unfit, it’s a hike. Take plenty of water. Wear a hat. Remember suntan lotion. Don’t trust a map, they’re all useless. Go first thing. Tourist buses arrive around 10-11, then it gets busy. This was my second visit. I first went in the 1990s. It’s become commercialised. There are too many visitors. The paths are eroding. There are shops selling tourist tat everywhere, which spoil the experience. Expect low-level sales harassment. Expect litter. Expect ruined photos. People constantly ask if you want to ride their camel/horse/pony/donkey/mule. Don’t do it! Animals are routinely mistreated. They have sores on their backs from saddles. Also, wild dogs roam the place in packs. Be careful. I saw something weird. Maybe thirty men were fighting, south of the Wadi al Farasa. There were no other tourists there, it’s not on any trail. They looked to be locals, they were dressed in robes. They didn’t cover their heads. They all wore backpacks. They were using swords, which were huge. They weren’t like typical Arab swords. They looked real, too. People were being chopped and stabbed. They seemed to lose limbs. They seemed to die! Yet they got right back up again when they fell. There was blood but they acted unharmed. It was weird. It was frightening. There was no-one else watching. I saw no film unit. I saw no support staff. There were just thirty men fighting. They were enjoying it. I took photos, but they’re too gruesome to upload. I watched for five or ten minutes. Then, one of the men managed to slice off another’s backpack. A third man ran the second one through. There was a brief light show. When it ended, the defeated man had disappeared. Fighting stopped at this point. The men slapped each other on the back. It looked as if they were congratulating themselves. Then, they walked to a tomb. I think it was that of a Roman soldier, it may have been older. They went inside, but I didn’t see them come out. I walked so I could see where they’d gone, but the tomb was empty. I thought I must have imagined it. I thought I must have had heatstroke. There was blood on the rocks, though. I think they must have been rehearsing for a display. My advice: don’t attend the event itself. It’s too realistic. Petra is a strange and enigmatic place in many ways, but tourism is degrading it. That’s why I only gave it a four. Visit before it gets worse? Don’t visit so it doesn’t get worse? Your choice. “Match me such marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time.” - John William Burgon Visited May 2024 · Travelled solo Written 19 May 2024 This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more. Notes Emeraldiana did not respond to requests from Tripadvisor users to upload her photos. Where You Can Get itBhéwonom is available in print and Kindle format from Amazon.co.uk,
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