So Many Places...So Little Time...

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I can't believe that it is over a week since I wrote my last entry. Not that I have had nothing to write about! I have just not had any internet access up until this point and two of those days were spent creating my own "Jenny Craig Weight Loss" program itineraries (nothing I had planned to say the least!). I am now in Petra, Jordan and enjoying the warmth and hospitality of the "Hashemite Kingdom". It might be easier to put some pictures down and itemize some highlights of the past few days:

-I climbed Mount Sinai! The total height of the mountain is 7000 feet or 2350 metres...I climbed it from the absolute bottom to the absolute top! It took a total of six hours to complete the climb although I have to say the climb down was completely at night with a flashlight although a full moon's light guided us down...as Diana would say..."Ain't No Mountain High Enough"!!!

-I spent one day in the desert near one of the oldest monasteries in the world...St. Catherine, built on the site of the burning bush (and believe me, after the hotel food there, that wasn't all that was burning!)

-Two days were spent on the beach by the Red Sea. Each of us had our own beach hut and were lulled to sleep each night by the sound of the waves lapping at the shore and had beautiful full moons to light our beach camp during the evening. I also went snorkelling in the Red Sea and was chased by a lion fish and saw a moray eel swimming peacefully away!

-I camped one night in Wadi Rum....the famous desert landscape of Lawrence of Arabia fame! Amazing how cold it gets in the evening...I have finally found a use and purpose for the sleeping bag I have been lugging around!

-I have just spent two days in Petra, Jordan site of an enchanting city that was carved entirely out of sandstone and part of the lucrative Silk Road for quite some time! The colours in the stone are breathtaking and the hues and tones in the rock seem to be painted by hand...

We leave tomorrow for a visit to an old Crusade castle landmark and then will go for a swim (or from what I hear, a "float") in the Dead Sea.

Our tour ends in two days and I will go to Amman, Jordan for two days and spend my time (doing laundry!) and enjoying the sites of the capital. Then I will travel across the border and begin my final leg of the journey in the venerable and sacred city of Jerusalem...I will miss my new friends but I know that this is not the end but only a beginning...until then, enjoy the photos...I wish so much you could understand the profound beauty of these amazing countries!

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Comments

[Jude]

So Many Places...So Little Time...
I am so thrilled to read about your travels, the pictures are amazing. I am deeply happy for you, what a wonderful experience!! Your description brings me right there and I love it. luv jude

[Travel Middle East]

Petra
Petra really is spectacular once you get past the touristy town. You'll really be amazed by what past civilizations produced such a long time ago. http://travelthemiddleeast.blogspot.com/