Day 18 - Petra, Petra, Petra!
Checked into our hotel in Petra last night. Rendevouz just outside the front door of hotel the next morning for our tour of Petra. We literally walked out the door of our hotel and five minutes later we were at the Petra visitor center! Spent six hours roaming around Petra, almost too beautiful for words... Finally made it back to our hotel, had a very nice dinner, then it was back to our rooms to pack up for our final tour day tomorrow!
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Our hotel, the Mövenpick Petra. |
Our group meeting up with our tour guide outside the hotel. It was a little chilly early but not a cloud in the sky, perfect for a long hike! |
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Just a very short walk to the Petra Visitor Center! |
Entering the Al Siq, the canyon leading to Petra...
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Incredible rock formations all along the way. |
Some of the side canyons were walled off, per our tour guide this was to control flood waters... |
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As the sun came up, it started illuminating the canyon... |
... even as the canyon got deeper! |
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Approaching the great reveal... |
... and here it is! Indiana, where are you? Actual name is Al-Khazneh, which means "treasury" in Arabic. |
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A close up of the central facade... |
Angela, the intrepid traveler. All that time practicing her Indiana Jones impersonation finally paid off! |
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Forget the camels, this is our new money shot! |
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The real surprise was after Al-Khazneh, there was the ruins of the entire ancient city of Petra behind it! |
Remains of a colonnade-lined street. |
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Angela in front of the city theater, seats are still visible. |
Rock formation above - our tour guide suggested it looked like a two-humped camel... |
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Ruins of a big temple or building and... |
... the Great Temple. |
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Angela the Goddess, on top of the Great Temple. |
We could have gone back the same way we came, it was the shortest path. We decided instead to investigate the ridge that we could see above the ruins. It added a couple of miles and a lot of climbing but it was well worth it. First thing we found was the remains of a 5th Century AD church... |
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Interior - mosaic tile floors depicting Noah’s Ark... |
... with all the animals two by two! |
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After crossing a less than optimal bridge (always scary when you can see the bottom of the canyon through the treads), our next stops on the ridge above Petra were the remains of several “Royal Tombs” |
This one is called the Silk Tomb... |
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Adventurous Angela climbing again! |
Finally made it back to the Siq. Water channels were carved in the rock to control flooding... |
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More stunning eroded rock formations! |
One last view. Goodbye Indiana, it was swell! |
