Petra, rock in Greek, is often described as the eighth wonder of the ancient world, it is without doubt Jordan’s most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. (Wikipedia)
Our guide’s name was Yousif. He was a wealth of knowledge about Petra. He took us through all of the highlights of the city. We saw he Treasury, the quintessential landmark of Petra (yes, the one in the Indiana Jones movie). Then we had lunch at a café in the heart of Petra. Afterwards we hiked up to the Monastery. It was a long hike, it took about an hour to get there. But it was worth it. We saw the Monastery and the stellar views of the valley just beyond that. Needless to say the walk down was much nicer than the walk up. We were all dead tired as we walked back to the hotel. We had walked all day from 9 to 5 pm. The girls were real troopers!
Below are some amazing pictures from Petra.
Us walking thru the siq. On the right you can see the lime stone pavers that the Romans added to the street. The Nabataeans used sand stone from the area where the lime stone had to be imported.
The spectacular view of the treasury at the end of the siq.
The colors of the rock are stunning.
This is taken from a cave. Can you imagine living with that view!
Our little climbers.
The lion's tomb which is on the way up to the monastery.
Finally the monastery! It took about an hour hike to get there. But it was worth it. It is much like the treasury but larger.
This is a view of the valley below just a few minutes hike up from the monastery.
