If so, you've got to add a visit to Petra if it's not already on there. If you don't have one, let me help you start one right now:
(Your Name)'s BUCKET LIST
1. Petra
You're welcome.
A few weeks ago, I left you in the Wadi Rum Desert, after having tea with our Bedouin friend, and a "Meet and Greet" with some camels.
Now, it is on to the main event...Petra.
Petra is one of Jordan's major tourist attractions. Let me put that into perspective. Petra' is one of the world's major tourist attractions, in fact, it is one of the Seven New Wonders of the World.
You probably know it best from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Remember the temple at the end?
It is a city dating back some 2600 years, where temples, tombs and other buildings were carved into the rocks, but...
...it remained hidden in the mountains until it was discovered in 1812 by a Swiss explorer.
I can see your eyes glazing over from here. If you are interested in more history, click here.
Petra is so...so...visually stunning, that I took a gazillion photos. Lucky for you, I'm only going to show you a million of them. OK, 26. Now that I put it that way, it won't seem like a lot.
But, there are options. You can ride a horse or donkey, rent a horse-driven carriage, or walk.
We walked.
And I would suggest, if you are physically able, that you walk, too. It's about a mile. You're going to want to stop, and gaze... and say, "WOW"... more times than you've ever said WOW in your entire life. The walk to Petra is almost as incredible as Petra itself.
In order to get inside the ancient city, we had to walk through the "Siq"...which is a narrow gorge in the rock.
I hope you can get a sense of how high these rocks are...
See that little dark spot in the center (below)? That's a carriage. Now do you have an idea of how massive it is?
I am forever bringing up the rear, snapping photos along the way...which means I always end up with lots of photos of "rears" -- I've got more photos of Mr. and Jr. Goo Shoes from behind than I do of their faces.
Around every bend, the rocks are different colors and formations.
And then...and THEN...we caught our first glimpse. It literally took my breath away when I saw this.
We were standing in front of the famed Treasury Building, which, in the final scenes of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, was the secret temple that was lost for hundreds of year.
Once inside, there was lots more walking to be done...
...and more camels to see.
More buildings to behold...
Notice how tiny the people are. These buildings are enormous!
Does anyone have a time machine I can borrow? I'd love to travel back a few thousand years, and see them being built.
We watched the sand sculptures being made. Kinda still feel bad we didn't buy one after ooh-ing and ah-ing.
The only thing I wish we would have done, was rent a carriage for the return trip to the main gate. The walk seemed twice as long on the way back, because at the end of the tour...
...we were Petra-fried.
After a few hours of viewing antiquities, and that loooooooong walk back, we were starving! Fortunately, our tour included lunch at the Petra Magic Restaurant, which was a short drive away...
and overlooked the Black Mountains.
They had an a-MAZ-ing buffet. You know by now that it's always about the food for me.
The best part of the meal was dessert. On the right is a bread pudding-like dessert called Um Ali. Or better yet, Yum Ali.
Our day at Petra may well have been one of the most memorable days we'll ever have...
...but I've got a thousand more things I still want to do.
As enormous as Petra is, it was just a drop in my Bucket List.
What's at the top of your List?
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