Essential Oil Education

This is the third in a series of blog post about my trip with other Young Living Essential Oil enthusiasts who went to Egypt and Jordan to participate in the filming of the documentary: The Frankincense Trail. After our time in Egypt, all 108 of us flew to Amman, Jordan where we took a three hour bus ride down to the city of Petra. Gary and Mary Young chose a very nice hotel for us within walking distance of the entrance to the Siq (opening). Petra is a city carved from the colorful limestone. It is thought that the ancient Nabataeans who inhabited this region around 800 BC carved beautiful tombs, temples and caves out of the rock. If you have heard of Petra, you are probably familiar with the “Treasury.” The city was actually lost in history and “re-discovered” in the 1800’s by the Bedouins. When they found the beautiful treasury building, they thought that it was built by the Egyptians and that Pharoah’s treasure must be hidden in the rock. So they used to shoot their guns into the rock face trying to see if gold was hidden there. Hence the name “The Treasury” stuck.

This much we do know about Petra. It was for centuries the center of all Western trade. The caravans from the East, North and South had to pass through this area. Their camels laden with goods such as silks, frankincense, myrrh, gemstones, pearls, gold and spices were traded at this world hub. Representatives of the Kings of various nations would bartar and buy and sell these commodities. Once they settled on their fair prices, they would then re-load their camels to take thier purchases back to their respective countries. the Nabataeans imposed a tax on all goods which helped to secure their own wealth and made Petra prosper.

The city itself is filled with exquisite temples and tombs. it was a center for ceramic production until the third century BC. Unfortunately all this wealth insited the ambitions of their neighbors–the Jews, Greeks and Romans and for centuries, there were wars and conquests over this area. It is important though to remember that this area developed due to the trade in frankincense, a necessary element in worship and healing. Eventually, Petra was conquered by the Romans and you will see among the ruins some evidence of Roman architecture.

Three churches built during the Byzantine period have been discovered complete with mosaics in the floor. While exploring the area, we came across a group of Italian tourists who were having Mass at one of the church sites. Here is a picture of one of the mosaics in the floor.

The emergence of Islam in the seventh century was an important piece in the history of Petra and the Nabataeans. Petra was not on the way to Mecca and so the trade caravans literally by-passed the area. A series of earthquakes pretty much emptied the city and it was abandoned until the twelfth century when the Crusaders built fortresses to strengthen their position there. But without the trade route, there was little or no reason to go there and the city was literally lost to history not to be “re-discovered” until 1812 when a Swiss explorer went there having heard tales about a legendary hidden city.  Archaeological excavations didn’t start until 1924. Here are a couple of pictures of our fellow travelers exploring by camel–Carl Janicek and Gailann Green on a donkey.

Pictured above is the famous split in the rock cliffs (the Siq) leading to the Treasury at the entrance to the city. This site was used in the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade movie.  Much of the original stone walkway still remains reminiscent of a Roman road. All along this roadway are statues and and alcoves for the god Dushara and the goddess Al Uzza.

Our Purpose in Going to Petra

Petra was on our trip because one more scene needed to be filmed for the Frankincense Trail documentary. And that was the arrival of caravan into Petra with the unloading of the frankincense. Gary Young had unsuccessfully tried to film this scene several times before but had to deal with tourists messing up the scene by walking through it. This time he had permission to film between 7-8am. That meant those of us who were going to be in the scene got up at 4am to be on the bus early for our drop off point. We had to be in costume and get on our make-up.

All went extremely well and the shooting was completed with only one take. And no tourists walked through the scene!

Now here are two “Bedouin men” that you just might recognize or maybe not. that’s me on the left and Marilee Tolen on the right. After the filming we had to walk back up the Siq to our hotel. We walked up in costume and that’s when we encoutered a whole lot of Italian tourists who repeatedly grabbed us to have their pictures taken with us. I tried to tell them that we weren’t the real thing but it didn’t seem to matter to them.

After the shooting, we were free for the rest of the day. Several of our companions had found a “Turkish Bath” and spread the word that it was a great experience, so 4 of us who traveled together, Jeanne Clark, Marilee Tolen, myself and Connie Cox visited the Turkish Bath. Here we are having tea after our “cleansing.” Yes, Marilee and I got all our make-up finally off.

The Bedouin People

Whenever I go to historical sites, I like to think of all those people who once lived there and thrived. Supported themselves, raised families and eventually passed on. I bought a book while down in Petra from one of the Bedouin’s. It was actually written by his mother who was a Kiwi (New Zealander). She had come to Petra in the late 70’s as a hippie and married a Bedouin. they lived in a cave, raising their 3 children. I read the book the whole trip home and found it fascinating–I recommend it to all of you. It’s called “Married to a Bedouin.” Sorry, I don’t have the author’s name–I have already lent the book to a friend.

I found the Bedouin people very friendly. They are beautiful–especially the men! Our whole party was invited to go to a bedouin barbecue one evening–the food was outstanding. After standing around the fire for awhile, I asked one of the Bedouin men–where are the women? He laughed, “they are in the tent,” he said, like what a silly question. Their society is very different from ours. Women and men do not associate or celebrate together. Even at weddings or funerals, the men congregate in one tent and the women in another. The women always have their heads covered and many are veiled. There was a certain allure about this beauty. Many of us who had been dressing in head scarves all week actually felt better having our heads covered and not just because we were having bad hair days. Here is a picture of Jeanne Clark in one of her head scarves. Perhaps it was because of our filming purpose–but we primarily interacted with the Bedouin men. Even the shop keepers and the and all the souvenir stands were run by men–no women in site. I would have like to have met some of their women.

Spiritual Insights Gained from my time in Petra

In Petra I experienced amazement and wonder at the great precision carvings in sandstone. I appreciated the beauty of another culture and its people. I rode another camel around the cliffs, I bargained with the souvenir sellers (that is actually expected behavior and they are insulted if you don’t bargain), I walked in the rain, felt the sun upon my face, enjoyed Arabic food, had my body steamed and scrubbed, participated in a film, and explored cliffs and dwellings of ancient peoples. I stood inside the Treasury (off limits to tourists now), rode a donkey up to Roman ruins, and walked and walked. What can these sands of time offer me?

• Life does not have to be complicated–keep it simple.
• Beauty is in one another.
• The environment will eventually heal after we have been here.
• Spices can excite not only our taste buds but our lives.
• The simplest entertainment is often the best.
• Camels are not so bad once you spend enough time with them.
• Head scarves are actually a thing of beauty.
• History does repeat itself–and cave dwelling is really quite doable.
• Some things in life are better when we bargain.

Tomorrow–the Dead Sea Tour

PS: Want to learn more about frankincense and other biblical oils? Consider becoming a certified clinical aromatherapist. go to: http://www.ISHAhealing.com