Day 5: Petra

Adventures for all. Petra was the old Roman Provence of Arabia and the word means rock.

Petra is in the large biblical land of Edom (descendants of Esau), though the sites we saw were mainly from the Nabateans (who inhabited the land after the Edomites). There were some Roman ruins as well. In the New Testament, some Edomites feature prominently, namely the Herod family (from Herod the Great to King Agrippa, spanning four generations)

Today we explored the World Heritage Site....the stuff of dreams & movies.
We journeyed down the main trail & quickly came across monuments and tombs carved into the sandstone hills. Fortunately, we started in the cool of the day. Around every bend we came across new carvings and men offering camel or donkey rides or gifts to buy. One shop was even named ... Why Not.
The narrow gorge displayed many colours of geology but nothing prepared us for the dramatic vision of The Treasury... The Wow Factor. Lawrence was quoting lines of poetry about ..' A rose-red city half as old as time' Impressive!
From then on the heat of the Middle East caused us to stop often for shade & photos and water. We passed many more tombs and a Roman Theatre with many rows of seats and a stage.

After a delicious buffet lunch, some of the unstoppables climbed the 800+ steps to the monastery. These athletic ones included Bob, Jim, Matthew, Ken & Myf, Ruth & Michelle & Frank . It was a tough climb with many stops needed for a breather and to refresh with water, but it was well worth it. The monastery is on an even grander scale than the Treasury. The rock around it has been carved away so it looks as if it was a free standing building that was built. From the top we had great views and had another glimpse into Israel.

Bob, Matthew & Ruth headed straight back afterwards, with a donkey cart ride from just past the Treasury. Bob and Ruth stopped to visit the museum.

The other five athletic ones took the long way back visiting tombs and the Byzantine church on the way back. Some such as Jim walked all the way back, while Myf displayed her horse riding skills galloping back on a horse.

Other groups went by donkey to visit a church & some even ventured by camel to return to a jewellery shop.
The hotel pool was a refreshing end to an exciting excursion before we gathered to share & do justice to a grand buffet dinner.


Photos: entering the siq (canyon) at Petra; the siq at times high & narrow; monuments & rock tombs; a camel drinking a can of coke!; three of our intrepid travellers getting off their camels; some of the amazing colours of the rocks; arriving at the Treasury; group picture in front of the Treasury; 7 of the energetic 8 (Bob taking picture) in front of the Monastery after climbing 800 steps; Matthew, Jim & Ruth at the Monastery; taking the horse & cart back at the end.