Petra: The Ruins with a 90-Fold Entrance Fee

Located inland in southern Jordan, the World Heritage site of Petra is a capital city built by the Nabataeans, who lived in this region from around the 6th century BC. The buildings, carved directly into the rock faces of the dry valleys, are magnificent, and the temples are adorned with exquisite decorations. The reddish rock surfaces turn rose-colored in the sunlight, making it a popular tourist spot. It is also famous for being a filming location for the movie "Indiana Jones."

Since 2003, when I studied abroad as a graduate student, I have visited this place many times. I went on excursions with classmates from language school and guided acquaintances there. That said, I never went with Jordanian friends; I was usually with Japanese or other foreigners. The sandstone ruins suddenly appearing in the desert and the camel tours may be the very embodiment of the Orientalism criticized by Edward Said.

Perhaps in anticipation of such foreign tourists, the difference in Petra's entrance fee between foreigners and local residents is a staggering 90-fold. The local rate of 1 JD (about 150 yen) is a reasonable price—higher than a city bus fare but cheaper than a taxi's starting fare—but the entrance fee for foreign day-trippers is 90 JD, well over 10,000 yen. It is said to be the most expensive entrance fee in the world. Although the site is so vast that a full day is not enough to see it all, the pricing is quite high. During long-term stays, I used to enter using my Jordanian ID.

This pricing reflects the weakness of Jordan's industrial base. As a non-oil-producing country in the Middle East with no prominent industries, Jordan has few sources of income other than logistics and tourism. Because it accepts many refugees, it is highly dependent on international aid. To begin with, it has been less than a hundred years since the country was created in a region that was originally fragmented due to division by the Great Powers. It might be unreasonable to expect it to become self-reliant so suddenly.

Incidentally, while modern-day Jordan is predominantly Arabic-speaking, there is no "P" sound in Arabic. The name "Petra" seems to derive from the Greek word for "rock." Having a name of foreign origin and being registered with the international organization UNESCO, the site charges foreign tourists an exorbitant entrance fee at every opportunity. I find something somehow endearing about that bluntness.