Petra Shopping

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Nabateans are found throughout the valley selling various items - mostly jewelry. You will find better prices and a more interesting experience if you look over the goods sold by those along the lengthy climbs to places such as the Monastery and High Place of Sacrifice. You will find jewelry, handmade dolls, coins, rocks, etc...

What to buy: My favorite buys:
1. A couple of ancient Roman coins - be careful to find authentic pieces. They are found following any decent rainfall.
2. A doll that was handmade by a woman named Mariam. The doll was dressed just like her.

What to pay: What you think it is worth - it is a great way to keep your memories of Petra close at hand. You should haggle as it is expected and thereofre the starting price is higher than what will be accepted. They are good at it so have fun and be polite.

all gift shops inside or outside petra have the same things , the antiques , books, .....sand bottels ...but the prices diferent from one shop to other, inside petra is more expensive, near the gate of petra and near the movenpic resort . but prices in the market in wadi musa is more cheap.20 $ there......5 $ in wadi musa's center....

What to buy: u can buy many things to rememmber petra , clothes ,gifts,but u have to bargin.

What to pay: expensive shops r very close to petra gate & movinpic hotel ,but in wadi musa center prices r good.

Among the most popular things to buy in Jordan are the decorated sand bottles, sometimes with the most intricate designs done in the sand, with the aid of a knitting needle and a funnel.

It is better to buy the bottles in Petra, where the sand used is almost always the natural sand of the rocks. These bottles and the sand in them are often referred to (by the salesmen!) as "Petra's treasure".

I found the shop facing Al-Dayr to have the widest and nicest selection of things to buy - much of it jewelry. If you are intent on buying jewelry at Petra, I'd wait until you checked this place out before purchasing anywhere else.

What to buy: jewelry

What to pay: they sell a lot of "semi-precious" stones, so the initial prices quoted are not teh cheapest...make sure to haggle

What to buy: Once you are inside, the beduins whos living near Petra will try to sell neckles made of some kind of shells and stouns, children will try to sell peaces of coloured Petra rocks or small coloured stones. Well, with adults be careful they will try to sell one neckles for the price of 3 or 4, accept the game and bargain. I must admit, neckles are nice and interesting and once you are back home you will have neckles and nice memories.
With children you can have lot of fun. They will try to sell about 5 small stones for 1JD and if you still refuse to buy they will give you as a gift, plus they will tell you on such childrens inocent way: I love you and please take it as a gift. If you still don´t want to give them 1 JD they wont bother you any more.
The kids I have met there are one of my good memories. it´s just amazing how little they have and what a big smiles they can give you.

What to pay: Bargain

This is mainly a book shop, where you can find a wide assortment of the different books published about Jordan in general and Petra in particular. It is not specially cheap compared to others, but I wouldn't say that is more expensive than those other shops near Petra's entrance. Books are properly stored and you will find the all different language versions of the titles published.

What to buy: Books, postcards and a few souvenirs.

The Noor Al-Hussein Foundation (as in Queen Noor) provides training and marketing assistance to traditional crafts enterprises and jewelry ventures - and this in turn creates jobs for women while reviving traditional craftsmanship throughout Jordan.

At the top of the climb to the Deir (monastery), I purchased some silver handiwork and the reason I did so was because of this.

Note: There are kiosks set up throughout the park including the top of this particular climb, where you can find such artisanry and jewelry.

We got a beautiful narghila pipe at one of the shops near the Movenpick Petra Resort...they are quite unique here.

Actually, there are all kinds of little shops along the main street (wish I could tell you the street name but it's the main one outside the Petra Park entrance, where the Movenpick Resort Petra is located) and they're open day and evening.

I want to make a note here that you MUST BARGAIN with the shopkeepers. I have a story of one shopowner who was actually insulted because I failed to bargain hard. For real! We went back and forth several times and then after a long pause and some mental calculations, I came back with my offer. The owner cast me a withering look and told me that it was hardly worth MY while to come back with such an offer...

Moral of the story being that you are dealing with bedouin (not these particular shopkeepers but still, that's the cultural heritage here) Arab culture and they are proud wheeler-and-dealers. Do they want to make money off you? Sure. But they are into the process as much as the end result, and the idea is for everyone to walk away feeling satisfied. They really get into the ritual of offering tea and the respectful haggling of prices. To be a worthy consort, you need to play the game with them and it pays to play it well. Go in knowing what you are and aren't willing to pay for an item, state a beginning point that isn't completely ridiculous but would most likely be rejected by the owner, and work it from there.

The process of purchase can be as much fun as the purchase itself!

What to pay: We paid about $65 USD for a large pipe.