Shopping at Petra

There are lots of stalls around Petra selling the same Jordanian crafts and copies that you see throughout the country. There are, however, a few places that are slightly better than the rest. In the town of Wadi Musa itself, there are a handful of shops where you will find authentic products. Two of those are inside the Mövenpick hotel: one is Souk Zara (www.soukzara.com/shop.aspx), an outpost of a chain that carries Jordanian crafts and products and the other is an antiques shop selling Roman coin jewelry, antique silver Bedouin jewelry and inlaid furniture. Another shop where you might uncover special finds is The Sand Castle on the main drag in Wadi Musa, which sells antique Bedouin flasks and lanterns, woven rugs, ceramics, photographs, jewelry and furniture. Inside of Petra, the best shop is the one facing the Royal Tombs. It was founded by a Bedouin woman who attended college in Amman but decided to return to her community to elevate the quality of goods sold to tourists. She carries lovely silver jewelry and objects that you can trust to be authentic and to benefit the local community.