Petra - fied

So, Ahmad (the driver) picked me up bright and early and we started the 3 hour drive down to Petra. He was told by the company to take the "scenic" route. I am glad he did, but he had no clue where he was going. For the first 30 minutes we drove right along the Dead Sea coast line. It was gorgeous, but incredibly barren. The Sea is completely empty which I knew would be the case, but it was still odd to see. Ahmad spoke very good English and we had a nice conversation about Jordan, his background and the jilted perception of the Islamic world by the West.

There were a number of make shift settlements like the one below. I assume most of these people are migrant farmers (don't let the rocks fool you. There were patches of farmland, although few and far between). The living conditions looked pretty bad.


Jordan also extracts a number of minerals from the Dead Sea, so there were several factories along the way as well.


And, as mentioned before, farmland (bananas in this case)


We also passed a number of small towns that looked like they were on life support (like the one below). Many of the buildings looked abandoned either due to their deteriorating condition or because someone ran out of the money / interest to finish them. I was also struck by how rocky the terrain was. It wasn't really that sandy.

We then began the climb through the mountains to Pertra. This was a somewhat hair raising drive as most of the road was two lanes (barely) and there were rarely guard rails on roads that went right up to the edges of steep drop offs. Ahmad was a great navigator.


Sill, the views of the Jordan Valley were stunning and the drive was one of the highlights of the day. I'd recommend it to anyone over the Desert Highway (which we took on the way back and it could not have been more bland).


Ahmad got lost a bit so it took us longer than expected, but just after three hours on the road we rolled into Petra...


Ahmad expressed some interest in going into Petra with me so I offered to buy him a ticket (yes, I've resorted to buying friends over here). It was weird though because once we were inside I couldn't tell if he actually wanted to be there (I actually think he was hoping to find a friend who worked there that we couldn't locate). Either way, he came along.

To enter Petra you walk down an long descending path that weaves though a rock corridor. The walkway is called, As Siq.


And it keeps going...and going...


...until (look closely)....



PETRA!

Homes? Tombs? not sure...


Amphitheater


Parking lot.

Tombs & temples


Ancient columns

If you got it, flaunt it.


In case the tourists get unruly...


Future Leaders of Petra Club...

BFF


We made good time through Petra, spending ~4 hours hiking around and hitting all the big spots. It was a quick trip (some people will spend 2 -3 days in the city) but you work with the time you have, I guess. I would have liked to stay longer but...

...I had reservations for a swim and sunset back at the Dead Sea...


...which I made...

It was a full, but incredible day. It's a place that is without a doubt worth seeing.