Petra Monastery: How I Climbed it with a Bedouin (photo essay)

Climbing the Petra Monastery is one of the most vivid adventures of my 2009 solo female Middle East road trip, which took me through 3 different countries in 5 weeks.

Also read: The Treasury, Petra: A tear-jerking Kodak moment

the Petra Monastery by fellow traveler Aaron Levy

I climbed the Petra Monastery on my second day hiking there with a Bedouin and some travelers I had met at Valentine Hostel. I was so scared at first, as I was precariously walking through a narrow pass, one foot at a time, from hundreds of feet high. Needless to say, I was so proud I listened/trusted the Bedouin that convinced me to do it and made it all the way to the top! The views from the Petra Monastery were AMAZING!

Me where the scary part of the Petra Monastery climb begun! See the tiny Bedouin on top!?

Basically, what you need to do is talk to any Bedouin that hangs around the area of the Monastery. Usually, they are either already on top so you simply make a hand signal or wait for them to come down or they hang around the tent/resting place right in front of the Monastery. You tell them you want to climb to the top and they help you out! In my case, no, I wasn’t charged money nor requested baksheesh (tip) after the climb, maybe because the Bedouin was the one who approached me and convinced me to do it or simply because the Bedouins in Jordan are not as pushy as the ones in Egypt (or so from my experience!). Either way, it was SO awesome and one of my top adventures to date!

Panoramic view over the Petra Monastery. TINY me on the left!

Made it to the top of the Petra Monastery, YAY! Me on far left, Bedouin on far right!

Have you climbed Petra Monastery? Is it on your travel bucket list?