Jordan: Part 1 - Petra

Once we flew into the Queen Alia Airport in Amman, Jordan, we picked up our rental car and drove the 2 1/2 hours down to our hotel in Wadi Musa. From there we did an all day trek to Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world!

"Petra" meaning "stone" is know as the "Forgotten City" or the "Rose Red City" because of it's secrecy hidden in the red sandstone hills of Jordan. It is thousands of years old, but was only rediscovered in 1812! Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade made it's "Treasury" very famous and well-know as it was filmed there! I had no idea that this civilization had existed and growing up, had never heard of this place! I assumed the shots in Indiana Jones were all just elaborate sets.

The scenery was simply breathtaking and our pictures truly do not do it justice. It's very expensive to get into (50 Jordanian Dinars, which is around $72 Canadian), but honestly WELL worth the money as the sites are fantastic! :) The colours of the rock were such beautiful shades and it was hard to believe that they hadn't been painted!

Some of the colorful rock...

Walking through the entrance and down into the Siq...

You had to walk in about a kilometer before you reached the Siq (a narrow winding gorge) which is the next 1km trek through this cleft between giant slabs of rock. It felt very cool walking through this small space with vertical rock cliffs on either side! The colours of the rock were beautiful and the patterns from the layers in the rock were really unique.

Kim at the entrance to the Siq...

Walking through.....I loved how the rocks were striped with the different colours of minerals!

It is really cool as you are walking though this kilometer long corridor of tall rock, because as you come around one particular corner, this is the view you get.....a sneak peek at what lies just beyond the bend! :)

The Treasury!!

From the Treasury we walked a bit further and discovered the hidden city......I had NO idea Petra was so large! Here are some pics of the buildings and structures that had been carved out of the sandstone.

The old ampitheater

From here we wanted to go all the way up to the old Monastery, and this little boy offered to take us up on his donkeys so we though, "Why not!?" Our little guide's name was Mahmoud. He was 11 years old and his whole family worked out at Petra doing/selling different things. :)

This was one strong, sure-footed little beast! LOL

Us at the top of the trail!

The view looking back from where we climbed from....

This is what we went all the way up to see.....the Monastery!

This gives you an idea of just how big this hand carved structure is.....that's me standing in the bottom right of the door!

Here are just a bunch of random pics from walking around and exploring Petra...

The wind has eroded A LOT of the carved structures...

It was a busy day and we were tired by the end! From Petra we drove another 3 hours through winding, hairpin turn roads to our resort on the Northern tip of the Dead Sea. Next post coming soon! ;)