Please Don't Stop the Music: a Journey through Petra by Kayt Sukel

When traveling with children, you have to make a few trade-offs.  It’s a necessary evil – trying to travel as you did pre-child is a Sisyphean task that will only kill off any brain cells not already destroyed by late nights and endless repeats of CARS, the movie.  But when you go to a place as incredible as Petra, Jordan, you don’t want to child-proof your way into a reduced experience.  It tends to defeat the purpose.

Which is why I decided that my four-year-old son, Chet, and I would make the arduous trek to Ad-Deir – otherwise known as the monastery – on our second day in Jordan. Ad-Deir is about as far as you can get from the Petra Visitor’s Center without ending up in Palestine. And to get there, you must climb 800 perilous steps straight up into the mountains. What’s not child-friendly about that?

Before I had Chet, I would have happily hiked it – it would have been exactly the kind of adventure I’d openly embraced. And I’ll admit, for a moment, the hot desert sun caused a momentary lapse of judgment.  I wondered if maybe Chet could handle it. You know, because nothing’s better than hearing your child’s whine of “Mommy, carry meeeeeeeee,” echo through a mountain passage. Except, you know, hearing your tortured breath as you actually do carry him up the mountain along with the sixteen “special” rocks he will find as we make our way. 

Bedouin Guides and Donkey Trekking

Instead, we opted to hire a Bedouin guide and make the trek on donkeys.  It seemed an admirable and, yes, child-friendly compromise.  And as Chet was excited to have his own “noble steed” (because if it’s good enough for Shrek and Fiona, it’s good enough for him), I didn’t think I was giving up too much by not going on foot.

It was not a compromise at all.  In fact, it was an incredible journey from start to finish. As our donkeys scrambled up the rocky, stone stairs, Chet’s laughter seemed to reverberate across the world. He couldn’t have been happier. And when our guide, Esa, a traditional Bedouin, started to sing, the trip only became more magical. “Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah eeeeeeeeah keereeageee aaaaaleeeeeeeeeeohhhhhhhhhhhh.”

Not be outdone, Chet joined in. At first, he tried to sing along with the Bedouin lyrics. But when they proved too much for him, he started his own song. “We’re riding on the horsie, horsie, horsie. We’re riding on the horsie, here we go.” The “Horsie” song is of those annoying ditties from Chet’s school that include clucking sound effects and incessant lap-patting. Of course, it’s one of his favorites. Usually, when I hear him start to sing it I have to go to my happy place lest the song burrow into my head and suck out my will to live. 

The "Horsie" Song

For a moment, I worried that Esa might feel the same way, especially with his gorgeous melody being interrupted with utter kiddie schlock.  But just as I was about to ask Chet to quiet down and listen to Esa, our guide  paused, listened for a moment with a smile, and then changed up his song so that he could weave it in with Chet’s.

From this day forward, I will be unable to hate the Horsie song.  Because when coupled with Esa’s lovely, haunting chant, I can honestly say it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard. “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeahhhh kaaaaaaaaayoooooooogeeeeeeeeeeee  ohyiiiiiiiiiiiiiii sharrrrrrok…We’re riding on the horsie, horsie, horsie. We’re riding on the horsie, just say whoa.”

Holding on to my donkey for dear life, I was unable to capture the moment on video. I couldn’t even snap a simple photo.  It’s easy to say I regret that I didn’t find a way to dismount and do so. But all I have to do is close my eyes and that music is right there, strong and exquisite, in my head.  And I know the sound of their duet, as well as our journey to Petra, will remain with me for a long time to come.