Around the World, Petra Jordan

[bamagrad75]

My saga with the tour company continued as we arrived back in Taba late, then had to cross back into Egypt where i was supposed to be put up in a 4 star hotel & meals. I was dumped off at a miserable, nasty hotel at midnight, had to be back up at 5, with no dinner or breakfast.

The next morning, headed to the seaport to cross the bay to Jordan. Had to find my own breakfast on the ferry. Fortunately, this time we HAD an English speaking tour guide.

Another 3 hour ride to Petra, then a long hike down which was beautiful and changed with every curve of the path. It's at least a mile to go all the way down to the ampitheater & more if you go back into the homes of the rulers & other areas.

Entrance to Petra

All along the way are temples, living quarters & store rooms built into the side of the hills. These were built from the top down.

Living quarters of the average citizen. And, yes, I expected to see the Flintstones pop out.

Every turn, every curve, the color of the stones changed.

Colors change again

Just when you think it doesn't exist, you stand back against the stone, peek around the edge & you see your first view of The Treasury.

Sorry this isn't straight. Was on uneven ground, dodging selfie takers, camels, carriages & a zillion people not watching where they were walking. It's surprisingly smaller than I expected & we could not go inside but still quite the scene.

Interestingly, the builders & residents of Petra were influenced by about every regional culture. There are Egyptian, Roman, Turkish & several other cultures reflected in the buildings.

Another view in better lighting.

Heading to the back, you can see one of the homes of the rulers built high in the stones.

The ampitheater, built to hold thousands for concerts, entertainment, plays. Petra was originally home to thousands of residents.

Couple of points. Don't try to see Petra in a day. It's too large & a lot of hiking. Take a couple of days to make it back to where they are still excavating & finding new things.

Second, carriage rides are offered at the front. The walk down is worth it..but it is downhill. And it's a LONG climb back when you are hot, tired & exhausted. BUT, if you try to get a ride back, they triple the rate. IF you sign up at the front & pay a single fee for a down & back ride, the cost is a lot less. Even if you don't take the ride down...it's worth it for the ride back.

I walked the dern thing refusing to pay their extortion rates for the ride back. It was a heck of a challenge & my cardiologist should be proud.

Back to the seaport, back to Egypt & dealing with their miserable border people. Arrived back in Sharm at midnight...hungry & exhausted.

Thanks to walking miles 2 days in a row, up & down hills with very little to eat & no sleep, all my leg muscles went on strike & I had to really think if I REALLY needed to get out of bed even to pee. Thank goodness for great room service.

Had hoped to spend the last couple of days exploring the house reef. Instead I explored trying to get my legs to walk more than 10 feet without cramping.

Had a great time in Egypt overall but wasn't sorry to leave the stupid customs people in the rear view mirror. 5 am flight & I'm off to Rome.