Blogs from Petra, South, Jordan, Middle East - page 5

Geo: 30.1451, 35.3979Today, we checked off a long-time bucket list item and enjoyed one of our most anticipated days of the trip. We planned a shore excursion to see the ancient city of Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It seems like most of our fellow passengers were eager to go there, too, as there were twelve buses ready for us. Fortunately, they loaded the buses at about half capacity again so we had lots of room to spread out, and we did not have to keep up with a large group. There were only twenty passengers and one Seabourn crew member on our bus. Khalid led our tour showing us everything of interest on the two-hour drive to Petra, then guiding us through about half of the ancient city. We then had an hour and ... read more

28 septembre 2015 - Jour 5 Nous rejoignons notre guide du jour, Samir, à 8h à l'entrée du site. De là, nous faisons les premiers 800m à cheval, c'est inclus avec le billet d'entrée. Je pense que ça doit être l'influence d'Indiana Jones mais c'est franchement ridicule car les chevaux n'ont même pas de rênes, ils sont guidés à pied par les bédouins. En chemin nous découvrons une première façade et des cavernes taillées à même la roche. Les chevaux nous laissent à l'entrée du canyon long de 2km. A l'intérieur les couleurs sont incroyables et Samir nous explique qu'elles changent au fur et à mesure de la journée, selon la lumière qui entre dans le canyon. Les Nabatéens qui ont édifié cette cité étaient de fabuleux ingénieurs. Non seulement l'emplacement de la ville a été ... read more

We planned to rise early today, head down to Petra as soon as it opens thus missing the crowds and the height of the midday sun. Petra opens its doors to visitors at 6am but as breakfast is not served until 6:30am in the Rocky Mountain Hotel, we pulled up outside the Petra visitors centre shortly before 8am. Petra is one of the Modern Wonders of the Modern World along with the likes of the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China. In fact some archaeologists rank Petra as the eighth Wonder of the ancient World, a truly justifiable claim in many peoples' eyes if not only for the 'how on earth did they do that' factor!! The fee for adults is 50JD. The pricing policy gets complicated depending if you are staying at least ... read more

Petra is cool. It was an accent city that was deserted and left to the Bediouns for many many years. Until an explorer tricked the locals into showing him the way into the secret city. As I walked trough this place I thought of him often seeing it for the first time! We got up early and had the whole place to ourselves, it was great! The city was a thriving living city and you can feel it as you walk through and see all the decorations and homes built into the side of the cliffs. It is also crazy how tall the walls are! The pictures can tell the story for Petra!... read more

The second part of my trip to the Holy Land took me outside of Jerusalem to explore the rest of the country. Leaving Jerusalem as another terrorist incident occurred, I boarded my bus that drove eastwards towards the Dead Sea. Whilst Jerusalem and the area around was very hilly, eventually you get to a huge valley, marking the border with Jordan, which at the bottom is the Dead Sea. As you then wind down the hill side there are some plaques denoting the elevation. And it is not long before you reach the "0m - Sea Level" sign. Fair enough, except when you look out to your left, you see the valley continues even further. Then it goes down "-200m", and you're still barely half of the way down. Passing by the Masada, I eventually arrived ... read more