POP QUIZ: Can you guess today's "This Time Next Year" location from this audio clue?:
Petra is an extraordinary archaeological site in southwestern Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. The site was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 when it was described as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage".To quote me: "Petra is dead cool!"
The best known site at Petra is the iconic Al Khazneh, or Treasury Building, but the whole site has a lot more to see. I'll admit that when I thought of Petra, I really just thought of that one building, but it turns out that Petra is not just the Treasury, a souvenir stand, and a guy selling falafel from a cart... its a whole CITY, and they think most of it hasn't even been uncovered yet. There's the remains of the fantastic Ad-Deir monastery, along with "rock-cut tombs, obelisks, temples, sacrificial altars and colonnaded streets". One website claims you need 4 or 5 days to really explore the whole city so I'm a little worried that my proposed itinerary will rush me through Petra too quickly. (Of course if I wanted to do it really quickly, I should run the first ever Petra Marathon on September 26th, 2009.)
I'm actually planning on seeing Petra as part of a package tour (more on the whole idea of package tours is probably coming in a later post). The particular tour I've got my eye on is called the "Jordan and Egypt Adventure", and just reading the itinerary makes me positively buzz with excitement:
Seriously? A camel ride? A bedouin camp? A felucca cruise? Pyramids? It's like the Greatest Hits of the Ancient World. How is it that YOU have not already signed on to come with me on this? I mean look at this map:This tour combines our ‘Petra to the Pyramids’ and ‘Nubian Sailtrek’ tours to give you the highlights of both Jordan and Egypt. We’ll see the hidden city of Petra, take a camel ride amidst the weird rock formations of Wadi Rum, sail along the Nile on a felucca and explore the Pharaonic treasures left by the Ancient Egyptians.
- Camel ride in Wadi Rum
- Overnight in Bedouin camp
- Full day guided exploration of Petra
- Sunrise on Mt Sinai
- Pyramids & Sphinx at Giza
- 1 day felucca cruise
- Horse-drawn carriage ride to Karnak Temple
- Donkey ride to the Valley of the Kings
The Jordan and Egypt Adventure, December 7-22, 2009. You know you want to.
4 Comments:
I like the audio segue here, from Indiana Jones (Petra) to those Greatest Hits of the Ancient World. And what a lovely little map from EAJO.
Definitely worth buzzing about, Pam!
I must be in some kind of marathon withdrawal...because that Petra Marathon looks way cool!
Pam!! I am soooo jealous! Petra did not make our itinerary (I can honestly say I don't know why) but since I started researching more it is definitely a place I would like to go. Certainly, if we find ourselves on the road >365 days or, if we have need to change our itinerary, Petra is so on the list!! It does sound way too cool!
http://www.jordanjubilee.com/history/earlyviews.htm
Since you've been there I thought you might find this site interesting.
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