Petra and Wadi Rum

We flew into Amman very early on February 29th. We then met a guy from the travel agency we booked our flights through and he took our passports and got them stamped and then customs was over! We weren't searched or checked or anything. Yay, Americans! All 11 of us then were shown to our two rented cars that we would be driving for the weekend! There was 6 people in one car and 5 in another. Unfortuantely, I was stuck in the car with 6 people and so it was four girls in the back and two people in the front. My car consisted of Ryan (driver), Laura (Ryan's girlfriend), Amanda, Liz, Kelly, and I. Our car was soo much fun and we had a blast. We left Amman and started our two hour drive to Petra for the day/night. We were driving by and saw a guy on a Humvee with a huge machine gun, that was a major wake up call that made us all think "HOLY CRAP! WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE EAST!" We then had to stop and get gas...and we told the guy we were from Canada and they were really helpful! go us! we are sooo smart! :)

We arrived in Petra around 3:30 pm and tried to get into the city to see the ruins but since it was late they were starting to clear people out so we drove REALLY fast to Wadi Rum to see the sunset!!! Wadi Rum is a combination of stupendous cliffs, canyons and endless deserts. It was beautiful at sunset.

The next morning we got up at 6am and made our way to Petra by 7am.

Petra, one of the new wonders of the world is without a doubt Jordan's most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2,000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome.

Entrance to the city is through the Siq, a narrow gorge, over 1 kilometer in length, which is flanked on either side by 80 meter high cliffs. The colors and formations of the rocks are amazing. At the end of the Siq, you come across the Treasury, Petra's most famous monument. The treasury appears in the movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" as many of you may know!!!!! This towering sight is only one of the many architectural wonders that we explored at Petra.

Various walks and climbs reveal literally hundreds of rock cut tombs and temple facades, funerary halls and rock reliefs. There's also a 3000 seat theater from the early 1st century AD, a Palace Tomb in the Roman style, and a gigantic 1st century Monastery.

We also saw a shrine commemorating the death of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and was built in the 13th century by the Mameluke Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammed, high atop Mount Aaron in the Sharah range.

We walked into the city through the Siq and to the Treasury. From the treasury we rode camels to the bottom of one of the mountains. I love camels they are so cute!!!!!!!!!! When we arrived at the bottom of one of the mountains we rode donkeys up the moutain to the Monastery. My donkeys name was Zulu and my friend Liz rode a donkey named Jackass, without any reigns and she fell off!!! haha, no worries she was fine, but it was HILARIOUS! we walked from the monastery all the way to the top of the mountain because we wanted to see Israel and Mount Horeb (aka Mount Sinai, where Moses watched the ten commandments be made). However, when we got to the top we found ourselves inside a cloud and had to wait until the cloud cleared. We shared tea with some of the Bedouins at the top of the mountain and hung out for about an hour. When the clouds cleared we took pictures and enjoyed the beautiful view.

We walked back down the mountain and bought jewelry from one of the many women who were selling stuff along the path and made our way to the "High Place." The highest point/mountain in Petra. About 900 steps later, we were really hot and sweaty but we made it to the top, and the view was incredible! We almost didnt go all the way to the top because we were tired but then we saw all of these 60-70 year old people climbing all the way to the top and they were giving us crap for being tired, so we HAD to pick up the pace. We definitly got out workout, Petra is the ULTIMATE STAIRMASTER! :) Getting to the top was definitly worth it.

We made our way down and started walking out at around 3pm. As we were walking out two guys on horses asked us four girls if we would like to ride the horses for free back to the entrance. Liz, a girl I was with, is allergic to horses and so we said "No thanks." They kept harassing us and Liz wanted to go since it was free and so Kelly and I got on one horse and Liz and Amanda got on another! Overall, we rode a camel, a donkey, and a horse all in one day!!!!!!! It was great!

We met a shopowner and restaurant owner named Yassin, who was really nice and he brought us to his restaurant for free tea. We then went next door to a really cheap pizza place for dinner and then made our way back to the car to drive that night to Amman!!!! The two hour drive to Amman took us SIX hours because we got lost in the huge city of Amman for four hours!!!!!! YIKES!