Friday, April 6, 2007

Day Out at Petra

Yesterday I (Mo) went to Petra to conduct some field research.

I was fortunate enough to catch a lift with C the Assistant Director at ACOR. We drove into Petra the back way (so I did not walk down the Siq as most tourists do) down through Beidha and then into the Park.


It was one of the first sunny and warm days we have had in a while, so there were a lot of tourists in the Park. Good for me as I was there to interview people about their visit, ask if they were offered real archaeological artifacts (illegal) to buy, and ask them what they ended up buying as a memento of their trip.


I also talked to a lot of the trinket sales people, the donkey drivers, and the guys with tea shops. It was a fascinating day. People were very friendly and happily answered many of my questions.
Currently there is campaign to nominate the new seven wonders of the world and Petra is among the nominees. I had many conversations yesterday about Petra and its nomination ("Why is the Sydney Opera House one of the nominees - that is just wrong" one tourist from Jordan stated. This is one of the signs reminding people to vote. If you want to vote or you want to see the other sites nominated check out: www.new7wonders.com/

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