Blogs from Petra, South, Jordan, Middle East - page 3

We arrived at Petra with apprehension that it would rain. The walk in from the entry gate took us past many Nabatean monuments built more than 2000 years ago. The Nabateans buried theIr dead in intricate tombs that were cut out of the mountainsides. Petra came under lots of other influences including Roman and Byzantine before being deserted following an earthquake and changing trade routes. The Siq, the narrow gorge that leads visitors into Petra, resulted from a natural splitting of the mountain. Originally there was a triumphal arch spanning the entrance to it. We walked along the cobblestone paths dodging horse drawn carriages, camels and donkeys and many other tourists. The entrance to the Treasury reveals Petra’s most impressive facade. It is 40 metres high and decorated with Corinthian capitals, friezes and figure. It is ... read more

We had to get up early to catch the bus to Petra. Now, I'm normally an early riser but this was early even for me and it was still the middle of the night for Steve! The alarm went off at 4.15 am and were eating breakfast at 5.30. We'd decided to travel with a couple of holdalls rather than take the suitcases so we left those behind at the hotel and wandered down to catch the bus. The place was heaving, even at that time of day! We eventually left at 6.45 rather than 6.30 but I didn't really want those extra minutes in bed anyway .... The journey was uneventful on smooth-ish roads, driving through mainly rocky, sandy countryside. We saw some sheep and goats but very little agriculture. We stopped at the Half ... read more

Wadi Rum This morning, we headed on a picturesque jeep safari exploring Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum also known as the valley of the moon is a beautiful desert wilderness in southern Jordan. The place is known for its dramatic sandstone mountains. The landscape of Wadi Rum is so unique that it was used to represent Mars in the movie "The Martian." It is also the place where Lawrence of Arabia as well as other movies including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were filmed. In Wadi Rum, we got to meet some Bedouin people who gave us a traditional lunch with some Bedouin Tea (Yum!). We also climbed up a hill, which was super tiring and saw some unique carvings in the rock. Petra ... read more

We have the whole day to explore Petra at our leisure. Our driver collects us after breakfast and suggests he takes us to the back (the tradesman’s entrance) rather than the Tourist front entrance. We wonder if he’s saying this because it’s more convenient for him. But he’s right again. He drops us at the top of the hill and we walk down into Petra. We are alone apart from the occasional Bedouin riding his camels/donkeys/horses to work. The road is lined with caves and ancient carvings. We have a lovely day exploring Petra, have a picnic sitting on a rock at the top of the Siq, then head for the meeting point to pick up our coach to Eilat. The group have had problems at the border and only 20 minutes in Petra. It’s a ... read more

Now Petra. October 18th. This is the big day when at last we will visit Petra the rose red city "half as old as time". Here nature and man together carved awesome works of impressive grandeur 2000 years ago.That thriving city, capital of the Kingdom of the Nabataeans, was then ravaged by earthquake and time, being lost for a thousand years until its “rediscovery” (I. E. to the west) through duplicity and intrigue in 1812. Planning to visit? Then understand this. This city sprawls for many miles. It spans over 60 square km. You will walk and walk and walk and walk and then walk back and back and back and back. If you don’t walk you can take a beast of burden a camel, donkey, horse. We chose not to. So we walked and walked ... read more