I feel like Indiana Jones!
(Petra)
A sneak peak of the treasury from the canyon.
So today we explored the site of Petra. I had no idea how big it was- 50 km2 with only 5% excavated. we walked into an amazing canyon with the walls being so many different colors- reds, yellows and browns. We finally made it to the “treasury” (actually a burial place) and it was spectacular. Though time has eroded much of the detail in the rock carving, you can still appreciate the Nabatean work. We weren’t allowed inside the treasury but from the doorway, it didn’t look like the scene from the movie. It was a single empty chamber. From there we walked through the Necropolis with many of the grave sites having beautiful facades. For lunch we climbed a hill to the unexcavated acropolis- the view was awesome. We then made our way to the Monastery via a church which had some of the nicest mosaics that I have seen all trip.
The Monestary at Petra - I'm the speck!
The trip to the monastery was definitely a workout- uphill with lots of stairs. I was exhausted when we finally got there. But it was worth it! This place was huge! Jen took a photo of me in front of it and I was only a speck compared to this structure. While Jen & others climbed the mountain further to get more pictures- I stayed with a few others to chat. We then made our way back down the mountain, appreciating the scenery. Petra also has one of the best ancient main streets complete with portico that we have seen (Ephesus still has better). Also complete with gate and off to the side was a huge Roman temple. After, Jen & others hiked up to the sacrificial place (It was a steep, uphill climb taking about 20minutes. Near the top a rather strange local lady began to trail us and asked us where we were from. Once we got to the top, we saw the altar where sacrifices were made and the drainage pit where the blood would have gone. The view, once again, was breathtaking. Later, I learned that another girl in our group had ‘posed’ on the altar for a picture and the strange local woman had taken what looked like a knife and actually held it against her neck. In the picture the woman looks just a bit too happy to be in that pose. Yikes! Thankfully, Kat escaped with her neck untouched). Once Jen returned we ventured out of the canyon & returned to the hotel for some showers & rest.
At six, some of the group went to the Turkish bath while some others (us included) went up to Wadi Musa to buy water and use ATMs. We came back down the hill for supper- a Bedouin restaurant. I had something called a Kaufa-bil-tahini. It wasn’t the greatest, but did its job. After dinner, us guys went to the local Irish pub for a beer.
