"PETRA" fied!

A group of 17 women from the American Women's Club of London found themselves on a journey of a lifetime to the small country of Jordan.  Though we only had a relatively short amount of time, our itinerary was full of awesome sights and things to do.  It took us 5 hours to fly to the capital city of Amman from London, then we boarded a bus for a 3-hour ride south to Petra.

We didn't arrive until around 10:00 at night but checked into a lovely Movenpick Hotel, just a 2-minute walk from the ancient UNESCO World Heritage Sight of Petra.  My sister-in-law (Rex's sister), Barb, made the trip over from the U.S. to go with me on this trip.

The following morning, we walked to the entrance and meandered through the narrow passageway called the Siq to the remote and mysterious city of Petra.  At every turn, we were awed by the beautiful wonders of nature.

The rock formations were incredible.  I felt well protected by this "elephant."  

And this one, maybe a whale?

Watching out for the occasional horse and buggy, the hoof beats reverberated through the canyons.

Our beautiful Jordanian guide, Rasha, is an expert on her country and she made learning about it really fun.  She called our group her "strawberries."  Sounds corny, I know, but believe me, when she called for "STRAWBERRIES," we all paid attention!  We all came to love Rasha because she was so personable and beautiful on the inside, too!

Here, you get a peak at what was to come.  Look down the center of the photo and you'll see the beginning of a sight that was just discovered a couple of hundred years ago by a Swiss explorer but, in fact, dates back to the 6th century B.C.  

This was what awaited us at the end of that narrow gorge - the ancient city of Petra!  "The Treasury" was hewn out of the face of dusky pink rock and is actually only a few yards deep, as the carvings weren't really used as rooms but as tombs by the Nabataeans.  They were a nomadic tribe that settled in the area and established this city as a gateway for their caravan trade.

Look at the detail that still remains.  It amazed me that it has lasted all these years as it was carved from sandstone, which is very soft.   I guess it was fairly well-protected by the caverns and gorges from sandstorms and other geographical events over the years.  Hollywood has discovered Petra, too, as it was featured in the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!

I wasn't about to try to pass these guards to take a peak inside The Treasury.

Public transportation in Petra!

This handsome guy was was part of the police but was happy to have his photo taken.

Taking a rest.

Some handicrafts made by a Bedouin man.  It was really fascinating how he made them out of sand.  He had several bowls of colored sand and made these in just minutes, making the shapes with what looked a mere toothpick.  

Here's a closer look.  The design is embedded and won't give an inch even when the bottle is shaken.

Here's a member of our group, Mary, getting fitted with a headpiece.  Typically, Arab men wear this but many of us bought one for the fun of it.  You may have seen men from several Arab countries wearing this type of garb but the color is indicative as to which country they are from - red being Jordan.  I think it will make a nice tablecloth!

The Nabataeans lived in these rooms carved in the rocks.

I think Fred and Wilma Flintstone lived here!

The ruins were incredibly well-preserved and  

there is evidence that the ancient Nabataeans had the ability to control the water supply in this desert city, which created an artificial oasis.  We could see where they were very creative in building dams, cisterns and water conduits in order to preserve a very precious commodity in the desert - water.

This colorful Bedouin was more than willing to sell camel rides.

Wait....., is that Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from the Pirates of the Caribbean?  We all thought so!  

Funny, just after we got back from our trip, this picture was in the London Times.  Seems we weren't the ONLY ones enamored with this stud!

The children were trying their best to sell rocks or 

this adorable little girl made lots of money by just letting us take her picture.

I didn't really expect her to plop the baby goat in my lap for a picture  She's quite a ham, isn't she?

I loved the food in Jordan (have you read a blog yet from me where I haven't loved the food?!)  Most every meal began with some mezze, which always included the most delicious hummus I've ever eaten.     Mezze is a variety of small salads and appetizers served with pita-style bread for dipping and scooping.  It was usually followed by roast chicken and vegetables - like we needed a main course after that!

This was only our first full day.  Day 2 was equally exciting so more will follow!