Dubai Post 79: Petra in Pictures

I figured we were going to ride into Petra like Indian Jones.  Instead
our horse ride lasted a mere 600 meters and was clearly met for
little kids. 

The narrow naturally made sique leads you into the
Rose Red City. 

Our tour guide who told us he was killed in the Indiana Jones movie
and they also gave him the task of guarding the lions.  During the tour
we found out he would have been 10 years old when it was filmed...

200 meters up. 

Along the way were carvings leading the wanderers into the city
2,000 years ago.  Here you can see two camels being lead by a
man. 

The amazing site through the crack.  Petra was actually
lost for hundreds of years after the city ceased
to exist. I  could not imagine what the Swiss
explorer thought when he saw this site in 1812. 

The most famous site within Petra, the "Treasury".  It
is the most well know site because it has not seen the
effects of erosion as many of the other sites have. 

The detail was incredible considering it was carved
into the mountain.  

Inside of one of the tombs. 

Passing by some of the more wealthy tombs. 

Nabataeans were the group of people who originally carved Petra. It
was then later taken over by the Romans before it was lost among
the mountains for ages.  I imagine some of the earliest settlers
were buried in these tombs. 

The inside of a Nabatean home.  The paint used to decorate the
inside has not completely worn off. 

The theater is over 2,000 years old before the Romans arrived. 

Bedouin kids swarm the grounds of Petra. They were
very eager to pose for the camera as well as chat
you up. It is incredible how good their English
is for living in a Bedouin village. 

Part of the amazement of Petra are the views provided by the Monastery.
You could either walk the 860 stairs or take a donkey.  We decided to
take the donkey, good idea or bad idea?

Bad idea, it was more scary than bungee jumping.  Every now and then
it would try to rush up the stairs even though there was a ledge
two inches to the right.  It was also great fun when it started bucking...

Luckily we got off the donkeys half way up.  I was then able
to enjoy the incredible views. 

And then there was Brylski...climbing again. 

I was not expecting this.  We climbed the last set of stairs and
there was the monastery.  One of the greatest moments
of the day. 

There I am standing in the doorway.  It gives you a
perception of how big it was.  

Little did we know what lied ahead. 

BAM, it was like something hit us in the face when we saw stepped up
here.  We were not expecting this at all.  We knew we were climbing
high but not this high.  We really felt like we were on top of the world. 

The views were simply amazing.  The pictures can not describe how
how they actually were.  We were also told we were looking
at four different countries. 

We were all PETRAfied at the ledges.  Of course Brylski was climbing
around and we were yelling at him. 

Looking at the ledge we were standing on only a few minutes ago. 

A view over looking the Monastery.  

The main stretch of the city in Petra.  I could only imagine
what it felt like to walk the streets of this ancient city thousands
of years ago. 

The town Petra resides in.  That night, cars were honking and
fire works went off because it was graduation day in the town. 

The bar at our hotel, Cave Bar, was the local hot spot in the town.
We thought it was cheesy that it had the Disney world
effect trying to mimic Petra.  We later found out it was a real
Nabatean tomb...we felt like idiots. 

The local Jordanian, Abraham, we befriended.  He brought us the most
amazing schwarma.

Of course there was the Indian Jones gift shops all along the streets. 

Petra was truly an amazing place.  The combination of the beautifully carved city with the breath taking views make it a world wonder and a place everyone must see before they die.