Blogs from Petra, South, Jordan, Middle East - page 21

After a day or two of Petra, you will have developed a few new skills. You will be able to take on anybody in a camel-and-donkey-shit-dodging relay race. You can say “no” to cute 5-yr old children faster than they can approach you with useless pieces of rock. However your tolerance for fat but scantily-dressed foreigners will have regressed as you probably haven’t seen exposed, cellulited muffin tops in 3 weeks, and you certainly haven’t seen sunburnt man-boobs (yes, some men take their shirts off here...) in too long. I mean what is this, a Six Flags? Your eyes will need time to heal - head to Syria or Iran. Jordan has a highly developed tourism industry - a somewhat unpleasant shock after coming from down-to-earth Syria. Bathrooms are spic-n-span, visitor centers are well run and ... read more

We got back to Amman and walked for supper but as this proved to be far to energetic and mildly scary we gave up after about an hour and got a taxi to the restaurant which was scrummy! The following day we woke up bright and early as we were heading to Petra. We had decided to hire a car as it was not going to be possible to get public transport and hiring a driver was to expensive! Anyhow on getting into the car we checked about petrol and realised that I had no idea where a petrol station was but if I didnt find one promptly we would run out! Luckily we found a petrol station pretty quickly and headed on our way without getting lost! One of the things that suprises me about ... read more

Petra was incredible! I will have to upload some pics later because this computer also doesnt recognize my camera. It is truly indescribable! YOu begin the journey by walking though a gorge/tunnel called a seek that is caused by a shift in tectonic plates and a consequent flash float. It is truly incredible. Just check out Indiana Jones and the Last Cruisader to get a look. I met some cool people at the hostel and talked a group of American/Brit/Canadian guys (5 in total) into joining me for the 6am hike to Petra to get some pics in good light, and to beat the heat, and the crowds. We arrived at the site at 6:30am and did some hardcore hiking all day. They were great company and we had many laughs. But they walked fast, so ... read more

Somewhere in the Middle East, south of the Dead Sea, on the edge of the Jordanian desert, hidden and surrounded by a ring of mountains, is a place unique and bizarre, a city carved into the rocks, a wonderland of temples, tombs and caves. Even though its life, colours and structure are long fallen to dust, its magic stayed alive throughout the centuries and legend became mystery, and one of the strangest, most fascinating places in the world... or how a poet once said: "Match me such a marvel, save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city, half as old as time...!" ...Petra! - The Kingdom of Jordan or the land of wonders - All travellers on the popular landroute Istanbul-Cairo or the other way around will have to pass through the Kingdom of Jordan. Coming from ... read more

On the road to Petra Petra is an archaeological site in Jordan. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. The approach through a kilometer long, cool, and gloom chasm (or Siq) a long narrow gorge whose steeply rising sides all but obliterate the sun, provides a dramatic contrast with the magic to come. Suddenly the gorge opens into a natural square dominated by Petra's most famous monument, The Treasury (El-Khazneh), whose intricately carved facade glows in the dazzling sun. Make sure to visit the Khazneh in the morning around 9am (the way the morning sun hits the building is marvelous). The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time." In 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site. Excavations have demonstrated that ... read more