Amman and Petra

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After some intense airport security leaving from Tel Aviv and traffic jams we finally arrived to our hotel in downtown Amman. It was around 8pm and the streets and sidewalks were jam packed of people selling and buying products. We were both extremely tired however we had to brave the streets in order to get local currency to pay for our hotel. Honestly we were both overwhelmed by the number of people and instead of trying to find food we decided we weren’t that hungry.

The following morning in the light of day we felt a little less tired and were ready for our day trip to Petra. Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that is famous for its rock cut architecture and water conduit system. The site was established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans. It lies on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah.

We left at 5:30am in order to arrive before the crowds, after a three hour drive we were met by a local guide who showed us around the central area of Petra. Honestly our guide was very average and if we were to do it again we would have done it on our own reading the signs along the way.

Once our guided tour was finished we spent the rest of the day exploring the caves, hidden buildings and enjoyed walking through the cool canyons.

That afternoon we returned to Amman and spent some time exploring the markets that lined the streets, of course Mikaela found some bracelets however generally the prices in Jordan were quite expensive in comparison with Egypt and Israel.

The following morning our extended travel had caught up with us and we decided to have a big sleep in before getting lunch. We found a fast food place which sold meals for less than two dollars which were quite good to eat and for the pocket. That afternoon we made our way to the airport which looks more like a tin shed, ate some KFC (which was not the same quality as in Australia)and boarded our flight to Nairobi where we will begin our overland tour of East Africa!

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Photos

Holy water
On our way to Petra

Treasury
Petra

Treasury
Petra