Petra - a 2300 year old Nabataean city carved in to a sandstone canyon - is Jordan's most famous historical site. The main reason I'm aware of it is not because of its historical significance, or because it was recently named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. The reason I know it, is because it featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - a film I first saw in the cinema when I was six. So it was with a sense of childish excitement that I crossed in to Jordan, hoping to follow in the footsteps of one of my boyhood heros.
It was early on Friday evening when we got across the border. The sun was glowing a bright red as it slipped behind the desert mountains and I felt a tinge of excitement as we turned off the main highway and got our first taste of sand riding. After our off-road training trip to the Mojave desert back in March I was keen to find out how difficult riding a heavily loaded bike through soft sand would be. Quite difficult it turns out. But still fun. Unlike the light dirt bikes that we trained on, our heavy mules tend to wallow and sink in the sand. The secret is probably just to gun the engine and try to skim over the surface. But there will be plenty of time to practice that in Sudan. For now, I'm content just skidding to a halt in a big cloud of dust and trying not to fall over.
Winding our way south through the canyonlands, we descended to the salty shores of the Dead Sea - the lowest place on Earth. The baron coastline was a bit of a surprise. I had expected tourist resorts to stretch all along the shore, but as it turns out there are just a few resorts and they're all concentrated in the north. Most of the coast is occupied by army watchtowers which gaze out over the turquoise water toward the rocky cliffs of Israel. But there are a few sections where it's possible to ride your bike down some gravel roads and through the sand to get close to the water. It was in one of these spots that we decided to go for a paddle.
Ditching our bikes a couple of hundred metres from the water, we made the remainder of the journey on foot. Walking over the dried mudbanks, we met up with some locals who were also heading for a dip, and one of them told us he'd show us how best to enter the water. He kicked off his shoes and then dashed madly in to the sea, hopping from one foot to the other in a funny looking dance. We thought he was just playing the fool, but as we kicked off our shoes we too were soon hopping about. The muddy shore was boiling hot, sticky and covered in salt crystals so that when your foot sank in to it, you were cut and scolded at the same time. The only way to avoid the searing pain was to dance like a hopping mad fool. So that's exactly what we did. First on the way in, then after a quick float around, again on the way out.
Jordan was proving fun, and with an Indiana Jones site just a few hundred kilometres away, there was still much more to see.
Biblical scenery flashed by as we followed the King's Highway as it cut its majestic course through the sandstone mountains. As we approached Petra the sun was beginning to set, creating ideal conditions to recreate the famous cinematic shot. But my dreams of riding my bike through the Canyon of the Crescent Moon were soon quoshed when it became apparent that Petra has become something of a tourist trap. Heavily coloured by the film, I had expected the site to be in a secluded canyon, far away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. But the realty was much less appealing. A tourist town - Wadi Musa - has grown up around the area and with it have come bus loads of sightseers, tacky souvenir stores, donkey rides and litter. It was all a far cry from the Holy Grail image I'd had in my head.
I still enjoyed Petra. The historic ruins are truly a wonder to behold and the canyons are an inspiring place to spend a few hours hiking around and jumping from rock to rock. But let's just say Spielberg and Lucas added a bit of sparkle to the place, which I felt was missing.
With one childhood dream quoshed, you might think I'd leave Jordan on a sour note, but the opposite is actually true. In the far south of the country, riding in the Arabian desert, I was taken aback by where we were and what we were doing. The vast baron scenery was truly spectacular and I felt priviledged to be riding my motorcycle in such an awe inspiring place. With a broad grin on my face, there was only one thing left to do - pop a wheelie and ride in to the sunset.
Cue Indiana Jones theme.
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