More effective management required at Petra world heritage site

When making arrangements to spend a four-week holiday Jordan in July 2014 during the fasting month of Ramadan, I got more than a few quizzical looks and questions: Isn't four weeks too long? Won't everything be closed? Will it be safe? Won't it be unbearably hot? And so on and so on...

The Temple of Hercules in Amman

The truth is that Jordan is an amazing country which everyone should visit. Quite apart from the A-list of tourist sites, notably Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash and the Dead Sea, Jordan has a tremendous variety of attractions, ranging from ancient ruins and castles to hiking and canyoning in breathtakingly beautiful nature reserves. Moreover, the country's sprawling capital Amman is also a well worth a few days' visit, whether to explore the Citadel, enjoy the world's best falafel at Hashem Restaurant or relax in a trendy café on Rainbow Street. And did I mention that there are few places I've visited where I felt safer or more welcome.

Souvenir stall inside a tomb

However, I do have one small complaint. The ancient Nabatean city of Petra, a world heritage site which receives more than half a million visitors each year, appears to be experiencing significant challenges related to the effective management of the site. These include:

• The proliferation of shops and kiosks throughout the property without any apparent regard for the physical impact on the site’s temples and monuments. In some cases shops and kiosks have been established within temples or ground in the vicinity of temples and monuments has been levelled or otherwise physically altered to facilitate the construction of kiosks.

• Ubiquitous and often aggressive solicitation of visitors by local community members for services such as donkey or camel rides or for the purchase of souvenirs.

• Minimal control of the property exercised by authorities, whose presence appears limited chiefly to access points to ensure that visitors have purchased a ticket prior to entering the site.

I understand that these problems are linked to the authorities' inability to address the aspirations and grievances of the local Bedouin community, many of whose members were displaced from the area years ago and now earn a living from visitors by selling trinkets, refreshments or animal rides. In this regard Petra stands in contrast to the many other world heritages sites I have visited around the world, including several in countries facing development challenges even greater than those confronting Jordan.

Child hawking postcards near Petra's Royal Tombs

I hope the Jordanian authorities take steps to address these issues, both for the sake of the ruins themselves and the local population.