I have had the dream of visiting Petra for a long time. This July the opportunity finally presented itself with a day off in Amman and I simply had to go. The journey to get there was a long one though.

This five day short-haul tour dropped me right me in the middle of the crazy and unpredictable European aviation summer. The days were long and sometimes chaotic, but I was lucky enough to have one of the best crews and we stuck together. We got rewarded with layovers in Nice, Madrid and Amman.

Nice

A morning stroll through Nice makes me forget the hardship of the day before. The sun shines from a clear blue sky, it is warm and there are already lots of people in the city centre on this lovely Saturday morning.

My first stop is breakfast in a small café. I enjoy a coffee and pain au chocolat and watch the world go by. I cannot stop myself from smiling as I take in the city and all its French charm. The Mediterranean sparkles in the sunlight; I walk through the market, marvel at the beautiful houses and draw enough energy from this gorgeous scenery for the rest of the working day.

Madrid

The next morning I basically repeat yesterday’s routine, but this time in Madrid. First, I have breakfast in a café on the way to the city centre. A coffee and an ensaimada give me much needed sustenance.  Then I follow the streets wherever they take me. I marvel at the opulent houses along the Gran Vía, drop into a shop here and there; observe the masses of people taking advantage of the beautiful Sunday weather. The streets are decorated with rainbow flags for the Gay Pride Parade and everything looks so cheerful. A small Flamenco band plays a birthday song for a lady standing on her balcony. She is discreetly wiping her tears of joy away as her family members down in the street cheer with balloons and people passing by clap rhythmically. There is so much to see and absorb. I walk until my feet are tired and then take the metro back.

Amman

“Let’s see what’s going to happen…” is the motto of this short-haul rotation. But eventually we make it to Amman, Jordan. A trip to Petra has been a dream of mine for a long time. Even though we are late coming in to Amman, two of my colleagues and I grab our pillows and provisions for the day and meet our driver outside the hotel at 7am sharp. As much as I love looking out the window when I travel, today all I want is sleep. On the upside, our three hour drive passes very quickly this way.

Petra

After a short coffee break we meet our guide outside the entrance gate. The sun is burning and I am very happy that I bought a sun hat in Madrid the day before. Having a guide was a good decision. He points out so many things to us and explains what it means. The capital city of the Nabatean realm lay strategically at the crossroads of the caravan paths connecting Egypt, Syria and the Southern Arabic Peninsula. I find it fascinating to think how this sprawling valley must have looked like during the height of their power.

Walking through the Siq, the narrow gorge is wonderful. The high rosy walls are impressive and provide us with cool shade. And then suddenly, there it is… the famous treasury. The portal peeks through the narrow opening and then unfolds in all its glory.

The masonry work is so beautiful. Because of the heat there are not too many tourists and we have time to admire, take photos and relax in the shade. Camels are lying in front of the building and make for a perfect photo. Many locals offer us rides, but we prefer to walk. People tell us how happy they are that tourists are finally coming back after two very difficult covid years. It still seems though, as if the ratio of guides and rides is a mismatch to the number of tourists.

We continue along the “street of graves”. Souvenir stands line the road and the occasional breeze makes the heat bearable. The big facades of the graves are what are best preserved of the Nabateans. The houses were destroyed by earth quakes and erosion.

We scramble up the side of the valley and enjoy the beautiful view of the theatre and the road passing it. It is very impressive to see the stone portals up close, peek into some of the more modest cave graves and generally enjoy being in this beautiful place. A few fig and pistachio trees grow here and there. It is the only green in an otherwise very arid place. The Nabateans developed and maintained a very intricate system of water canals from the higher plateaus into the deeper valleys.

At the Qasr el-bint we say good-bye to our guide and turn around. We slowly walk back to the treasury, have a close look around us once more, take photos, marvel at our surroundings… The air in the valley is hot and flimmers in front of our eyes, but still we are all three immensely happy that we made the trip.

One final stop at the treasury is a must and we observe the colourful scenery unfolding in front of us. You can buy souvenirs, take camel or donkey rides; people pose for the best photos. I buy a bottle of cold water because the sun is still burning down on us.

On the way back we talk about flying, about our lives, about what we have seen today. It is never difficult for us to find something to talk about. Crews are special in that way. And so time passes quickly and we are back at the entrance gate where we rest in the shade a little until our driver picks us up again.

The landscape is very arid. Sometimes in the distance we spot a green oasis and a village. As we get closer to Amman we get hit by the afternoon traffic, but it has been such a wonderful trip, we do not even care. To close the day in style we stop for a delicious dinner and then head back to the hotel.

What an incredible five day tour, with such a highlight at the end of it. Petra, as a colleague of mine put it, “is worth every sleepless minute”.