André Barmasse was the first to arrive at Umm Sayhun, so he had an entire day available to walk around and visit friends he had not seen for a long time. Many hands were shaken, many tea glasses refilled, laughs shared, and memories exchanged. It felt like coming home. Everybody has become older, a mother, a father or even a grand mother or a grand father. Some have passed away at old age, some had to go too soon. But life continues at Umm Sayhun.
Fig. 1: View from the balcony of Rezik’s Bed and Breakfast at Umm Sayhun towards Petra (photo: André Barmasse).Fig. 2: André Barmasse and Suleyman Mohammed driving around Umm Sayhun (photo: André Barmasse).
Saturday, March 25, 2023
After the arrival of Zbigniew Fiema, Alexandra Druzynski-von Boetticher and her daughter Lara and Isadora Schulz of the UrDAP team from Amman, a first walk in Petra was organized. Unfortunately, the weather changed drastically that day and temperatures fell from 25 to 10 degrees. Therefore, raincoats and a many layers of clothing were mandatory.
Fig. 3: Rainy outlook from inside the restaurant near the nymphaeum (photo: André Barmasse).Fig. 4: Zbigniew Fiema, Alexandra and Lara Druzynski-von Boetticher and Isadora Schulz resting on the Petra city wall (photo: André Barmasse).
Sunday, March 26, 2023
After the arrival of Josephine Klatt, Maximilian Arnold, Niklas Jungmann and Ernst Tolksdorff late in the evening of Saturday, work started immediately on Sunday. But first of all, the small storage cave with all the stuff of current (PHSLP, UrDAP) and former (EZIV, IWFP, IUBP, NEPP) excvavations had to be searched for appropriate tools. Some things were broken beyond repair, other things were eaten by mice.
Fig. 5: Zbigniew Fiema trying to open the lock on the door to the small storage cave (photo: André Barmasse).Fig. 6: Niklas Jungmann and Zbigniew Fiema rumbling through the interior of the small storage cave (photo: André Barmasse).
Monday, March 27, 2023
Fig. 7: Maximilian Arnold, Ernst Tolksdorff, Josephine Klatt and Niklas Jungmann sitting in the back of the pickup truck (photo: André Barmasse).Fig. 8: View of the area in front of Qasr al-Bint with donkeys grazing in the locked area (photo: André Barmasse).
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Fig. 9: Section of the southern city wall of Petra seen from top of Ez Zantur towards the east (photo: André Barmasse).Fig. 10: Niklas Jungmann and Ernst Tolksdorff taking a short break from cleaning the city wall in a nearby cave (photo: André Barmasse).
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Fig. 11: Hard work at sounding 1: Ernst Tolksdorff, Zbigniew Fiema and Niklas Jungmann shoveling and gooffaing like hell (photo: André Barmasse).Fig. 12: Maximilian Arnold, Josephine Klatt and Lara Druzynski-von Boetticher visiting Ernst Tolksdorff and Niklas Jungmann at sounding 1 (photo: André Barmasse).
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Fig. 13: Niklas Jungmann, Zbigniew Fiema and Ernst Tolksdorff trying to figure out the north of the world (photo: André Barmasse).Fig. 14: Little donkey visting sounding 1 every day and grazing nearby (photo: André Barmasse).
Friday, March 31, 2023
Weekend. Time for a guided tour with Zbigniew Fiema from the entrance of Petra, throuh the Siq, to the Khazne, the Urn tomb, the NEPP area, and the Byzantine church.
Fig. 15: The Khazne. Wonderful! Takes you breath away, as does the herd of tourists during the day (photo: André Barmasse).Fig. 16: Iron bridge crossing the Wadi Mataha. Will it hold up or tumble down? (photo: André Barmasse).
