Petra, Jordan

Our day in Jordan was also Rick's 70th birthday.  Jordan has a total population of 10.5 million, but almost half are refugees from Syria, Yemen and Palestine, countries experiencing civil unrest. "Jordan" means valley of water.  The royal family comes from the Hashemite tribe; the current king is Abdullah II. The major religion is Islam, the currency is the Jordanian dinar ($1.4 US dollars = 1 dinar).  Education is free and compulsory for grades 1-12 and most schools are single sex. There is a 21% sales tax charged for goods from the market -- this is the major tax to support government programs. Jordan sits on the tectonic plate for the rift valley and is mainly mountainous with a dry climate in the southern part of the country.

From our port of Aqaba on the Red Sea, we traveled 76 miles by bus to Petra, passing through pretty desolate and mountainous terrain. It is an ancient city carved out of rose sandstone that was occupied for 500 years (400 BC until about 100 AD) by the Nabateans, but eventually was abandoned  because trading caravans no longer came through the area and earthquakes caused structural damage. It remained "lost" until the early 1800s, but is now the #1 tourist destination in Jordan and one of the "new" 7 wonders of the world.

From the visitor center, you walk 0.8 mile down a narrow, high-walled canyon called the siq to get to the Treasury, the iconic carved facade featured in the movie, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." The entire city was quite large, containing tombs, temples, an outdoor theatre, monastery and other structures.  We only had time to walk about 5 miles on the main trail, but seeing Petra was an amazing experience.

Bedouin town in the desert of Jordan

Desert terrain in southern Jordan near Aqaba

Driving over the mountains toward Petra

Wadi Musa, the nearest town to Petra

Beginning the walk toward the Treasury, lots of tombs carved in the sandstone

Beginning to walk through the "siq", a high-walled canyon toward Petra

walking through the siq, 0.8 miles to the Treasury

the big reveal -- the Treasury is in sight

The Treasury, the iconic facade of Petra

Lots of tombs in the rocks

the theatre carved into the rocks