Crazy Cat Lady Explores Petra (Part II)

We were glad that we stayed for two days in Petra as we could not explore Petra in a day. We were so wrong to think that the trek up to the Monastery was very challenging when in fact the trek up to the High Place of Sacrifice was even more challenging.



Est 10 am 

We started our trek up the High Place of Sacrifice. It only got harder and harder. If for some reason you are unable to trek up to the High Place of Sacrifice, you can ride on the donkeys. Personally, I would avoid that as we did witness how poorly treated the donkeys were by their handlers. some of the handlers whipped their donkeys very hard with an electric cable and we could see the pain in the donkeys' expressions. Moreover some of these donkeys were made to transport passengers who were, let's say, on the heavier side. We are not being judgmental but you may want to make sure that the donkey choose to ride on is not being ill-treated. Similarly, if you are too exhausted to walk or have some difficulty with your mobility, you can consider riding a horse from the Siq back to the main entrance. Some handlers will try to persuade you to ride from the main entrance to the Siq but if you do choose to ride on a horse, I think it would be better to save it for your journey back. The handlers told us that the horse ride was inclusive in our entrance tickets but they asked for tips which 'you pay from your heart'. I read from some travel blogs that some of these horse handlers asked for 18 to 20 JD per person as tip but some travel blogs said 1JD would be sufficient.

There is an animal hospital established just as you enter Petra. Apparently these horses were treated very badly that an animal hospital was set up to give free treatment to them and also to educate their handlers on animal abuses.

These donkeys are amazingly agile as they could easily ascend and descend the difficult steps.


One funny things we experienced was that donkeys pooped and ascended and descended the slopes at the same time. Just watch out for fresh donkey poops.

We were very lucky to be invited to tea by the Bedouins. They were really friendly and kind. During your time in Petra, you will see many of them. Some of them even set up stalls in places you would not imagine them to be and to sell you small stuff like necklaces or even drinks. i do not think many people actually buy from them. I did buy a necklace from an old Bedouin woman as she told me that she had no business even though the day was almost ending.