Blogs from Petra, South, Jordan, Middle East - page 9

19 March 2012 5:45 local Now it can be told. I left my jacket in the bus from Aqaba to Petra. I went to the bus station next to the visitor's center when I realized it was missing (3 + hours later) to see if they have a lost and found. It turns out there are two bus stations. The one I went to is for tour busses. Mahmoud who runs the entrance gate invited me into his kiosk while we tracked down the driver of the bus I was on. A few phone calls located the jacket and arrangements were made to pick up the jacket from the bus station the next morning. While we were trying to get people on the phone, Mahmoud and I shared sweet tea and stories. He has seven kids. ... read more

18 March 2012 20:00 local I don't have Internet access here, so I am completing this now with the intention of publishing it at the first opportunity. I woke up at 3:30. Listened to the basketball game (too many easy baskets) and spoke with Melly and Caterina. I then napped, showered, packed, caught a taxi to the bus depot. As soon as I got out of the taxi someone screamed from across the street if I was going to Petra. I asked taxi or bus, he said bus and so I hopped in. The ride was very crowded (damnit Jessie, close your legs) and we were a little long in leaving, but it turned out fine. Petra weather today is a lot like New Mexico, chilly, sunny, and windy. I found my hotel, dropped off my ... read more

We woke up early in Madaba as we had to go back to Amman to get the bus to Petra. Luckily, the bus station we pulled into from Madaba was the same as the one we needed to be in to get the bus to Petra. It took us about 4 hours to get down to Petra after waiting the best part of an hour for the bus to fill up in Amman. We found our hostel in Petra, put our bags down and made our way as quick as possible to Petra to get the most out of the remaining sunlight. The sun was setting at around 5.30 and we got in at about 3 o'clock, so we thought we only had a couple of hours. However, after climbing up way above the Royal Tombs, ... read more

So much has been written about Petra and so little does it justice. I am not certain I can succeed where better writers have failed. Here is the Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra. An ancient city, according to a famous poem "half as old as time itself" but really only 2000 plus years, it was "lost to the west " until 1812 when it was rediscovered by a Swiss wanderer. He must have been astonished indeed to stumble upon this amazing place. The approach to the City is through a narrow canyon. It must be 8 feet wide five stories high and go on for half a kilometer. Progress is slow as it is hard not to take a picture every 100 meters. Then comes the big reveal. A faux front of an enormous building carved into the ... read more

Jordan is divided into three regions: the Jordan Valley, the East Bank plateau and the desert. The fertile valley of the Jordan River is the dominant physical feature of the country’s western region, running from the Syrian border in the north, along the border with Israel and the Palestinian Territories and into the Dead Sea. The majority of the population lives in a hilly 70km strip running the length of the country known as the East Bank plateau. The remaining 80% of the country is desert, stretching into Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Mount Nebo - Madaba Mount Nebo is where Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land. He then died at the age of 120 and was said to have been buried in the area, although the exact location of the burial site ... read more