Day 3: Petra

The weather was good for December--about 35 degrees in the morning and expected high of 60.  We were up and headed for the the gate by 9:00 a.m. --dressed warm.

Not very many tourists have been visiting the park lately because of all the turmoil in the region, but we were very safe.    

At first it was great being practically the only ones here.  We didn't have to stand in line to take our pictures or be dealing with huge crowds.  But then we found out that all the hucksters (Bedouins) were extra diligent in their efforts to sell us something.  It was difficult to get away from them.

To enter Petra we passed through a very narrow desert gorge called the Siq ("seek"). 

 For about one mile we were surrounded by a massive wall or rock towering to a height of 70 meters (76 yards) above.

This makes Petra one of the best defended cities of all time.

The variegated colors in the rock were impressive.

After walking for about 45 minutes the gorge suddenly opened up to the magnificent treasury.

The Nabataens carved this enormous royal tomb out of solid rock in the side of the mountain.

Kristen and Jill liked it.

The rest of Petra was carved out of the rock.

So interesting!

It was fun to explore and try to guess what life would have been like living here.

Kevin was like a mountain goat...running up and down the ancient pathways.

We could hear our voices echo off the walls of this large room.  

Notice the beautiful swirls in the rock.

An old Bedouin woman was selling coins she had found in the area.  She kept saying, "Nabataean"  "Nabataean" meaning they were left from the ancient Nabataean's who built the city.  Kevin and Dad bought some.

We all rode camels back to the treasury, even Mom and Dad.  Yee Haw!!

 Here we are heading out of the park back up the Siq.

We had a long trip ahead--6 hours to Al Husn.

Stopover in Amman for ice cream