SHOPPING

Apart from the artisans stalls inside the Petra site, there are many shops in Wadi Musa that sell local products, such as Nabataean-style pottery, silverware and bead work jewellery, These are mainly produced locally by the Bedouin people.

Traditional Bedouin necklace.

Just outside the centre of Wadi Musa there is a silver workshop, which is sponsored by the Queen Noor Foundation. Here the local women make a delightful array of silver jewellery pieces, which are sold in several local shops. It is possible to visit the workshop but it is always best to go there with an Arabic speaker as the ladies who work there don’t speak English well, if at all. It is also possible to have a piece of jewellery custom-made there but you will need to allow a few days for this. Prices are little less at the workshop than those in the town.

Also available in a few shops in Wadi Musa, are the very heavy, antique necklaces. These are not generally on display and are expensive. If you are interested, visit the Sandcastle shop in Petra.

There are two craft shops at the Visitors’ Centre, one is run for the benefit of the Rural Women of Jordan and the other for the Ladies’ Working Circle of Wadi Musa. Here you will find a good selection of items, particularly jewellery or boxes done in mother-of-pearl marquetry, brightly coloured hand-filled bottles of sand, woollen rugs, embroidered and woven pillows, fashion items, furniture, pottery, glass, wall hangings and metal work, as well as some of the famous embroidered articles. All of which make great gifts to take home as a memento of your stay in Jordan.