Solid Rock and Deep Blue Sea
Petra and Sharm El Sheikh: Most of us know Petra, the “Pink City” in Jordan [1]. I’m pretty sure. Why am I so sure? Because the chances are good that films like Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), Star Wars, Transformers (Revenge of the Fallen)… and co have not left us unscathed. There are scenes in all of them from this impressive location. [2] But that should not be our topic.
Instead, we will look at some photos, recall some historical facts, and try to address some aspects of the confusing situation in the region from a Jordanian perspective.
The journey to Petra: A pretty tiring day, but worth every effort. Departing from Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) at midnight, reaching the border with Israel early in the morning. Transfer by ship to Jordan. Very intensive security check at the border post [3] (including a long and complex iris scan). Then a long drive through the desert, initially along the border with Saudi Arabia with a view of border towns. On the return trip, we also see an Iraqi border town (all from the bus).
The guide “Mr. “Aladin” is an absolute expert and uses the travel time to share his priceless knowledge. [4]. I would like to repeat some things he explained and deal with what is too specific in the footnotes or provide facts about the Bedouins in the extra section. The Bedouins – because we are in a region that has been the home of the Bedouins for around 10,000 years now. [5]
Where are we?
In the middle of the desert. It is a rocky desert, inhabited by Bedouins since time immemorial. For me, it is difficult to imagine how anyone can survive here. Heat of 50 degrees Celsius and more in summer, temperatures below zero in winter, and it can also snow in this region. In some countries, These Bedouins here are among the poorest. Not everyone owns a camel, many just have a few goats or sheep.
Here and today many Bedouins do not know the word money, let alone have any. When you’re at home in this place, money has no meaning. Money is a medium of exchange and what did you want to exchange with whom here?
Even if the area is very inhospitable you can survive relatively well in the caves of the rock massifs. But we shouldn’t expect a palace like this. A family, a cave with one room, maybe 2.
Status Quo
For a better understanding, we should first remember that Jordan has only existed for around 120 years and was under British sovereignty for a long time. [6] It is not a rich country, but it has always had a very admirable refugee policy. Half of the population are Palestinians and the estimated number of Palestinians who have to flee from Israel has now increased to 6 million. Ascending trend. This is of course a huge burden for Jordan, as they help refugees from Syria too.
Along the road (and we are driving through the desert), we occasionally see tents being set up for the Palestine refugees. One family – one tent. Allegedly, most of them are air-conditioned. I don’t know how this is possible without a power supply. What you can’t see from the car are the Bedouins, who are increasingly settling here again. They come from the area around the Negev desert and have been systematically expelled from Israel for centuries now.
Photos like these help us understand why Petra is called the Pink City.
When did it all start?
I first wanted to write a brief history of the region so we could get a better picture – impossible. Where should we start? With Moses and Aaron [7] who were of great importance to Petra? Moses removed a rock so that there was water in the valley. (The water supply line, which is largely still preserved, is astonishing). But we would already have skipped a few thousand years.
So better let’s start 9000 BC with the Nabataeans? The actual builders of the rock city as you can see it today. But they weren’t the first to settle here either. Bedouins have always lived in this area and we cannot help but be amazed when we hear that archaeologists have found the oldest bread in the world in the Black Desert in Jordan – it is 14,400 years old!
For me personally, Petra is of particular interest because it was an important trading center along the Silk Road (Southern Route), which started in China. My first scientific paper was about it – but only about the Chinese part. That’s why the topic has not lost its fascination for me for decades.
The old ancient trade routes between Arabia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean all passed through Petra too, resulting in considerable wealth.
Al-Khazneh “The Treasury of the Pharaoh” (Arabic: الخزنة;)
wikipedia writes: “Al-Khazneh is believed to have been built as a mausoleum and crypt at the beginning of the 1st century AD during the reign of Aretas IV Philopatris”. Elsewhere it is referred to as a temple. According to our guide, it was an office that managed the war chest. Large amounts of gold were found here.
The Ottomans not only shelled some facades, they even blew up a rock there.
This theater (the columns are from the Romans) dates from the 7th-6th century BC. The good quality of the Roman road is also remarkable.
In general, this place is well-visited by tourists. However, due to the tense situation in the area, they are staying away in droves. Which enabled me to take photos without tourists.
And where is the deep blue sea?
Instead of lots of words, I prefer to show a short video that gets to the heart of the trip and half explains why the Red Sea is called that.
extra: The Bedouins
What race are Bedouins?
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu are pastorally nomadic Arab groups who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq).
How many Bedouins exist?
There are Bedouin communities in Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, Morocco, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Altogether the Bedouin population is estimated at around 4 million people only. Bedouin are seen as Arab culture’s purest representatives.
What percentage of Israel is Bedouin?
Bedouin society is a unique social group within Arab society in Israel, constituting more than 25% of the total population of the Negev and 13% of the total Arab population of Israel.
The Bedouins in Israel
The Bedouin of Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank have been subject to a series of human rights violations, including forced displacement, since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. They have been classified as a ‘security threat’ and branded as ‘squatters’ on state lands.
How do Bedouins make money?
The primary economic activity of the Bedouin is animal husbandry by natural graze and browse of sheep, goats, and camels. This way of life, called pastoral nomadism, has been in existence for at least three millennia.
What did the Bedouin worship?
Before the rise of Islam, most Bedouin groups practiced polytheism, most often in the form of animism. Animists believe that non-human entities (animals, plants, and inanimate objects or phenomena) possess a spiritual essence.
What problems do Bedouins face?
They face difficulties in access to basic commodities such as water and electricity, limited access to justice, poor opportunities for decent work, and vast social disruption. Marginalized groups such as women and youth struggle with even greater vulnerabilities among Bedouin communities.
footnotes:
[1] We also know Petra as the “Rose City” because of the colour of the stones used in its buildings and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Seen in this way, the “Pink City” is a good counterpart to my trip to the “Blue City” in Morocco, about which I wrote this article.
[2] I visited other Star Wars filming locations in Tunisia with my son when he was little. Especially Djerba, Ajim: House of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Djerba, Mosque of Sidi Jmour: Setting for the city of Mos Eisley.
[3] Even my sun hat was x-rayed. But after that, we didn’t see any military or even hardly any police. At no time did I have the impression that I was exposed to any danger. Rather the opposite.
[4] Mr. Aladin is of course not his real name. He is 55, an archeologist and geologist, and is involved in the Petra project. Mother Serb, father Iraqi, lived in Russia for a long time and seems to have good Russian contacts (in the cultural area). Blocklisted in Jordan until the end of the year because, as he puts it, he fought in “the wrong war.”
[5] 1,300,000–4,000,000 live in Jordan now. As of 2020, there are 210,000 Bedouins in Israel: 150,000 in the Negev, 50,000 in Galilee and the Jezreel Valley, and 10,000 in the central region of Israel. Galilee Bedouins have been living in the northern part of Israel for four centuries. Today, they live in 28 settlements in the north.
And yet we know so little about Bedouins. They have no “lobby” in rich countries, there is no “Safe the Bedouins” project, nobody seems to care about them and actually, no one wants them. In Israel they are in the crossfire of Hamas and the Israeli government: Los Angeles Times Article
[6] The territory of the British Mandate included land on both sides of the Jordan River, encompassing the present-day countries of Israel and Jordan. About 77% of this Mandate was east of the river Jordan River, and in 1921, Great Britain created there a separate administrative entity called Transjordan.
[7] It is believed that Moses’ brother Aaron died and was buried in the Petra area and a white-domed mosque, built in the 14th century, commemorates this. It stands atop Aaron’s Mountain (Jabal Harun), which is the highest peak in the area at 1350 meters above sea level.. Both were later buried in St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai.
related articles: The valley of Kings – I promised you the sky
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