Wadi Musa and Petra, Jordan

Petra is hands down the coolest place we have ever seen. Ever.

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But first, let's back up... We flew to Jordan a couple days ago on Qatar Airlines, through Doha, Qatar. Qatar Airlines is now tied with Korean Air for best airline ever- good legroom, personal tv's with lots of new release movies, excellent food and excellent service. It was really neat to fly in through Doha- looking out the window, all you see is tan sand meeting the aqua ocean, with little shaped islands dotted with equally tan buildings. We then continued on to Amman, Jordan. There, we were met by a driver from our hotel who took us for the 2.5 hour drive south through the desert to Wadi Musa, the town abutting Petra Archaeological Park. Our driver was really awesome, and he taught us a lot of Arabic terms, and had traditional tea with us along the way (with mint leaves in it- so good!). Tea is a very important part of the culture here, and it is very common to sit and have tea and chat with people.

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The next day, we went to explore Petra. It is AMAZING. Petra is an ancient city, started by the Nabataeans in the 6th century BC, although its heyday started around 200 BC to a few hundred AD. It was an integral trading post on the Silk Road, and once housed up to 30,000 people. It was later subjugated by the Romans who brought some of their own architectural heritage to the site. It is still lived in today by Bedouin people. You walk through a winding sand road through the open desert, with outlying tombs carved into the red rocks as you approach the "Siq," or narrow, long steep-sided crevice that served as the entrance to the city. You then walk through the 1.2 km canyon at the end of which you have your first glimpse of Petra's most famous and well-preserved of sites- the Treasury. Cue Indiana Jones theme music:

The Treasury is actually an ornately adorned tomb for King Aretas III, but is best known for its appearance in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It is indescribable, so here is another picture:

After admiring the Treasury for some time, we continued on the path through the "Street of Facades" which is a row of many tombs carved into the sides of the rock face and also contains a large amphitheater. The Petra city proper is in a valley (called "Wadi" in Arabic) which is surrounded by tall rock formations similar to a shorter Grand Canyon, or the rock mesas in the southwestern US. Many of the dwellings and tombs are found sprawling over a great distance in the many twists and turns of the rock formations. Height is no obstacle, and many of them are found built impossibly high on sheer rock faces and on the very tops of remote mountain-sides. The rock is very multihued- from purples and reds, to yellows, blues, and blacks. We meandered off the path to visit some of the famous tombs higher up, and then returned to visit the Petra city proper, which has a colonaded street and a complex temple still undergoing excavation. Finally, we made our way up the over-800 steps to the Monastery, another famous tomb built high on the top of a mountain that was later converted into a church during the Byzantine period. There were some great views of the surrounding mountains and valleys from the top of this climb.

After a delicious Jordanian dinner, we returned to experience "Petra by Night" which is a candle-lit night hike back through the Siq to sit in front of the Treasury and listen to a concert of Bedouin music on the flute and a traditional stringed instrument (ancestor to the cello!), and hear Bedouin stories of the Nabataean times. It is interesting to see the Treasury at all times of the day and night because the light is constantly changing its appearance.

Today, we went back to Petra to explore more in depth some of the more remote areas, including a long hike to the top of a mountain overlooking the Treasury, and a hike to a top of a different mountain at the top of which a sacrificial altar can be found. On the way back down, we explored some more tombs and other architectural wonders including a very complex water system.

Both days we ate lunch at a fabulous Bedouin restaurant high up on a hill overlooking the Petra city center, where we ate a LOT of baklava. Jordanians really know how to do dessert. The Bedouin couple who owned the place were very pleased that we came back the second day, so treated us to tea, which was especially nice because it was very cold and windy today. We also used our newly acquired knowledge of Arabic numbers to bargain with the ever present Bedouin vendors throughout the park. They sell everything from rocks to camel and donkey rides (aka "air-conditioned taxi's" aka "Bedouin Ferrari" etc). They are not unpleasant as vendors are in some other countries, but are genuinely excited that you are there to experience their culture and country, and always willing to share a tidbit of knowledge or to check to make sure you are enjoying the sites.

We really wish we had more time to experience this place and learn more about the Jordanian culture, and we hope to be back some day. And you all should come here too!!