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This will be my last blog, at least until next years trip back to Jordan. I did this blog in partial fulfillment for a grade that I will be receiving for a course at the end of the summer. If you wouldn’t mind giving me a little feedback, I would very much appreciate it. I will be writing a 15 page paper in the hopes of turning my experience into a community learning experience. If you could tell me what you enjoyed and didn’t enjoy, what surprised you and what agreed with your expectations, and what else you wished to know—I would very much appreciate to include it in my final paper. You can email me at brerick@gmail.com or brad.erickson@duke.edu. All questions, comments and snide remarks are appreciated, whether it is from friend, family, or present / past teacher.
Our last weekend of the trip was amazing (I cannot recall how many times I began a post with the adjective ‘amazing’). We journeyed to Petra for the weekend and spent two full days exploring the ancient wonder of the world. You might recall Petra from the last Indiana Jones movie (not the ‘Crystal Skulls’—I still rfuse to consider that an official Indiana Jones movie—but I am referring to the Last Crusade with Sean Connery). Petra, meaning ‘rock’ in Greek, was an ancient Nabatean stronghold later turned Roman stronghold. Visitors travel upon a modern gravel path until they reach an enormous Siq (an old, narrow river carved canyon) that serves as Petra’s only ancient entry. The Siq comprises about a mile of narrow twists and turns until visitors are presented with the Treasury—a giant building likely used as a mausoleum of sorts for the Nabataea kings. For visitors daring enough (and of course, we were!), a further hike yields a series of 821 steps (according to one of our Jordanian friends) that evontually guides visitors to the top of Petra where another giant building rests. My friend and I journeyed to the top and went a little further to a couple of lookouts that displayed miles and miles upon the beautiful, surrounding land. It was breathtaking and a visit that I will not soon, if ever, forget.
The last night at Petra, a group of around 20 of us decided to visit a Turkish bath at the encouragement of Dr. Byron McCane. It was something that Byron had talked about since his first week on the dig, and it was something to which we were all looking forward. Upon arriving, the men were separated from the women, and once situated in slim bathing suits, the men were sent into a steam room. We spent around 30 minutes going between a steam room and a cold shower. After this process, we began going for our special message in groups of two. Each message lasted about 15 minutes and how intense it was. I have never received a true message before. I have always been eery about paying someone to rub on my body—something about it still sounds creepy to me for some reason. But I decided to give it a chance. It was incredible. They spent a few minutes with a scouring pad, scraping the dead skin from our body, and they spent the rest of the time popping our bones and rubbing oils into our skin. After finishing, we went to a waiting room to dry, drink Bedouin tea, and to watch a coupe of World Cup games. It was a very restful and relaxing end to a high-energy three weeks.
At the end of our stay at Petra, we loaded up on a bus and headed back to Amman to begin the long journey home. A few students left that night, and most of us left the next day. We had an end-of-the-dig party at a local pub. Instead of tearful goodbyes, we spent a majority of the night recalling and relating our favorite moments from the trip. At the end of our party, a group of six of us returned to our hotel to smoke Nargileh (hookah) for a couple of hours. Around 2:30 a.m., I realized I better be getting to bed because I wanted to be up by 5:30 a.m. the next morning.
I woke up on time the next day, made it to the airport and left at 10:30 a.m. for what turned out to be a 14 hour flight to Chicago.
I am still struggling a bit with jet lag, but I am mostly back to normal. I will never forget this trip, the relationships made, or the lessons learned. I cannot wait for next summer to return to the Middle East to begin another trip. Thanks for reading throughout my journey. Again, if you have the time, I would love to get an email and hear what you have to think (or any questions you may have about the actual dig—I was unable to post certain material due to publication restrictions, but may be able to relate specific information on a one-on-one basis). Thanks again.
Ma’a Salama
Brad
