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New Jersey traveler reveals what it was really like to live with a cave-dwelling Bedouin tribe in Petra

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Petra in Jordan receives close to one million visitors a year, and one adventurous tourist has told how she had a one in a million experience after cave dwellers there took her in for the night. 

Caitlin Redden, from New Jersey, visited the ancient city, which dates back to 400 BC, earlier this year and in a series of TikToks, she documents the adventure she had. 

Instead of wandering around with other tourists, Caitlin found herself befriending a member of a local Bedouin tribe and she was invited to see how they live. 

While it was deemed a Unesco World Heritage site in 1985, a small population of Bedouin people continue to live in Petra, with small caves carved into the sandstone just like their ancient counterparts.

Caitlin Redden, from New Jersey, visited the ancient city, which dates back to 400 BC, earlier this year and in a series of TikToks, she documents the adventure she had

Caitlin Redden, from New Jersey, visited the ancient city, which dates back to 400 BC, earlier this year and in a series of TikToks, she documents the adventure she had

Instead of wandering around with other tourists, Caitlin found herself befriending a member of a local Bedouin tribe and she was invited to see how they live
Instead of wandering around with other tourists, Caitlin found herself befriending a member of a local Bedouin tribe and she was invited to see how they live

Instead of wandering around with other tourists, Caitlin found herself befriending a member of a local Bedouin tribe and she was invited to see how they live

In 'Part One' of her adventure, the American tourist explains how her unique experience came about. 

While showing footage from her Petra trip, she says: 'So I arrived at the park at 6.30am because I wanted to beat the crowds and get the Instagram pictures.

'And I came with this Polish lady that was staying in my hostel, and we had a really good time, but then I lost her.

'So I was just standing at the Treasury admiring it, and this guy came up to me that worked for the government.

'He was getting these shots for me. He knew all the angles. He has been doing this for years. So we got to chatting, and he invited me to go to his family home in the middle of Petra.'

Caitlin said she trusted the local man as he 'did not have any creepy vibes' and she felt as though he was being 'very genuine.'

The man went on to introduce Caitlin to his friends and family and she said it was 'so cool to see where they lived.'

After having lunch, the Bedouin invited her on a tour 'even further into Petra' and she accepted the invitation.

While it was deemed a Unesco World Heritage site in 1985, a small population of Bedouin people continue to live in Petra
There are small caves carved into the sandstone just like their ancient counterparts

While it was deemed a Unesco World Heritage site in 1985, a small population of Bedouin people continue to live in Petra

Caitlin said of her stay amid the rocks: 'The views from this cave were absolutely insane and the stars were really bright as well'

Caitlin said of her stay amid the rocks: 'The views from this cave were absolutely insane and the stars were really bright as well' 

Detailing how the adventure went from there, she said: 'So they gave me their donkey, Shakira, and I had to lead Shakira all the way through the mountains.

'At this point, I had no idea where I was, but I was just kind of going with the flow of everything.'

In her next TikTok, 'Part Two,' Caitlin explains that because she was falling behind from the rest of the group she was put on a donkey.

She tells viewers: 'I know a lot of these animals are overworked due to tourism and I would never pay to ride one but they said I was slowing everyone down so I had to get on.'

During the journey she got separated from the original Bedouin guy she was with and she was told to follow his cousin and a friend.

They ended up taking a three-hour trek to one of the guys' caves and they watched some 'Bedouin TV' in the form of sitting in front of a fire while cooking dinner.

Caitlin said of her stay amid the rocks: 'The views from this cave were absolutely insane and the stars were really bright as well.

'[But] it was absolutely freezing!' 

In 'Part One' of her adventure, the American tourist explains how her unique experience came about
In one scene, she is seen venturing 'even further' into Petra

In 'Part One' of her adventure, the American tourist explains how her unique experience came about. In one scene, she is seen venturing 'even further' into Petra 

Rounding off her trip, the globetrotter was shown a lesser-trodden back route to Petra's famed monastery which she said was 'so impressive'

Rounding off her trip, the globetrotter was shown a lesser-trodden back route to Petra's famed monastery which she said was 'so impressive'

The next morning, Caitlin panned the camera around to show viewers the simple cave where she spent the night, with some bedding on the floor.

She then went to climb a rock to get cell phone service to call family and was surprised to get a message from her hostel.

It turns out the Polish woman she was originally with had believed she had gone missing and was considering calling the police. 

In a bid to get back promptly, Caitlin packed up and followed her two guides. A third TikTok details her journey home. 

It turns out the group had to hike back towards civilization as they discovered that one of their donkeys had wandered off overnight.

Rounding off her trip, the globetrotter was shown a lesser-trodden back route to Petra's famed monastery which she said was 'so impressive.' 

Many viewers have expressed envy over Caitlin's behind-the-scenes Petra experience.

One TikToker wrote: 'As a Jordanian who lived in Jordan for 25 years... DAMN GIRL you got the queen treatment. I went to Petra tons and I didn't get to do half of that.' 

Another commenter said: 'I'm so impressed that you're alive and jealous that I won't ever experience this. Thanks for sharing!' 


The historic city carded into stone: Petra's incredible past

Situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea and inhabited since prehistoric times, the rock-cut capital city of the Nabateans, became during Hellenistic and Roman times a major caravan center for the incense of Arabia, the silks of China and the spices of India, a crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. 

Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. 

The entire Petra Archaeological Park covers about 102 square miles (264 square kilometers), but the city's center encompasses an area of only 2.3 square miles (6 square kilometers). 

An ingenious water management system allowed extensive settlement of an essentially arid area during the Nabataean, Roman and Byzantine periods. 

It is one of the world's richest and largest archaeological sites set in a dominating red sandstone landscape.

The Outstanding Universal Value of Petra resides in the vast extent of elaborate tomb and temple architecture; religious high places; the remnant channels, tunnels and diversion dams that combined with a vast network of cisterns and reservoirs which controlled and conserved seasonal rains, and the extensive archaeological remains including of copper mining, temples, churches and other public buildings. 

The fusion of Hellenistic architectural facades with traditional Nabataean rock-cut temple/tombs including the Khasneh, the Urn Tomb, the Palace Tomb, the Corinthian Tomb and the Deir ('monastery') represents a unique artistic achievement and an outstanding architectural ensemble of the first centuries BC to AD. 

The varied archaeological remains and architectural monuments from prehistoric times to the medieval periods bear exceptional testimony to the now lost civilizations which succeeded each other at the site.

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