Days 1-3: Wadi Rum and Petra

The treasury (Khazneh) at Petra
see all photos »

Day 1: Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

We arrived at Sharm El Sheikh after a 5-hour flight from Glasgow. Sharm is a resort town on the north shore of the Red Sea, and that’s where our ship, the massive Thomson Celebration, was docked and ready to depart. After a good deal of queuing for customs/check-in procedures, we made it on to the boat for a buffet dinner and a swing-themed music/dance show by the resident performance troupe. The boat was really quite impressive, a massive, floating hotel with 500 or so cabins, three restaurants, five bars, cinema, spa, two pools, gym, medical centre, show stage, and netted-in outdoor sports area. We wanted to watch the ship leave port that evening, but our departure was delayed due to high winds, and we were fast asleep by the time we set sail for the port city of Aqaba, Jordan.

Tea with Bedouins

Seven pillars of wisdom in Wadi Rum
see all photos »

Day 2: Aqaba, Jordan

Our planned excursion this day took us to the Wadi Rum desert, a vast and beautiful landscape that happened to be the filming location for ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. The perfectly clear azure sky contrasted perfectly the orange/red rocky outcroppings and expanses of sand; it was truly a sight to behold. We set out with a fair-sized group in a convoy of 4x4s and drove through the desert for several hours, making periodic stops. If you walked away from the trucks, away from the other people, and walked out until you felt alone, the stillness of the environment was striking. Utterly peaceful. We made stops just to look around, but also to see ancient rock drawings and visit with Bedouins (native nomadic people of the desert. Our expedition ended at a Bedouin tent, where we drank their sweet sage tea (incredible) and had biscuits and dates. Later, it was back to the boat for dinner and entertainment, with a nautical–themed show.

How can life exist here?
see all photos »

Day 3: Aqaba, Jordan

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra:

“Petra is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock. The long-hidden site was revealed to the Western world by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. Petra remained inaccessible to all but the most intrepid Europeans, guided by local guides with armed escorts, until after World War I. The descriptions of Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans, Arabic-speaking Semites, and the centre of their caravan trade. Walled in by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf.”

A typical Petra tomb. There were hundreds like this!
see all photos »

We spent hours wandering about six miles worth of Petra, entering via the kilometer-long, 3-4m wide, 15m deep, dark gorge known as the “Siq”. At the end of the Siq, we came upon the famous “Treasury” (see: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) which was carved into the rose-red rock and is probably Petra’s best preserved and most elaborate site, along with the amphitheatre just down the way. The pathways led us through a canyon of this red rock, into which were carved hundreds of tombs. We entered one or two, but the real wonder of the place came from the interface of the natural landscape with the architectural sites, and the tombs were best viewed from a distance. At the far end of the city, the valley widened into an awe-striking panorama of desert hills, rugged red mountains with elaborate tombs, Roman ruins and the remains of a Crusader castle. Our tour guide led us off the beaten path, around behind a mountain at the far end of Petra. The rock formations here were astounding and we were able to visit the home of a Bedouin man who had settled into one of the 2500-year-old tombs. After this visit, we made out way back along a Roman road and through the canyon of Petra, to the modern village of Petra where a 5-star Jordanian buffet awaited us. Best hommous ever!

Remember, to see all our photos visit http://www.flickr.com/gp/90685571@N00/QE9206.