PETRAPETRAPETRA

So I haven’t blogged in approx. 37 years, Sorry!  But I finally have some time to catch up a little bit.  Last week we went to Jordan!  It was awesome.  We are pretty close so we just drove there on the buses.  We crossed the River Jordan and into the other side of the desert.  It was actually pretty beautiful – all tan sand on the bottom against the bright blue sky, with the setting sun and the rising moon all visible at the same time.   Pretty breathtaking.  Our tour guide, Yusuf (the chemist in Inception) explained how much the people of Jordan love their king, King Abdullah (that's him up there).  His pictures are everywhere!  Every shop and place has a photo of him or him and his family, its pretty interesting.  I was talking to my friend Annie about it, though, and it is actually pretty refreshing to be in a country where seemingly everyone loves their leadership, loves their country, and is happy with the way it is run. 

We first went to Mt. Nebo, with a view of Moab, Edom, the Jordan Valley.  I continue to find the Judean Wilderness beautiful!  Then to Madaba, where there is a really cool old mosaic of the city of Jerusalem.  Then we went to Machaerus!  Machaerus is a fortress where John the Baptist was beheaded.  It looked like a big hill/small mountain, all sand and desert around, with some great ruins on top.  I was so happy to hike up to the top, I miss hiking.  After taking plenty of really interesting pictures, we went to our hotel for the night.  The next morning, we went to my favorite place I’ve ever been: PETRA.  I’m really not exaggerating when I tell you that I fulfilled a childhood dream last week.  We walked right from the hotel, down the long stretch of desert and already could see Nabataean carvings and buildings in the red rock faces.  We reached the entrance to the canyon, and I literally felt my heart beat faster.  Walking through the canyon, it looked very similar to one in southern Utah.  Except for the ancient images and symbols carved into the sides.  Yusuf kept stopping us to show us this or tell us that, so I was going crazy and trying to just stay at the front of the group.  At our last stop in the canyon I was pacing back and forth in front when my friend Cal gestured to me to turn around.  I whipped my head back and saw the Treasury glowing through the slit in the canyon!  (The Treasury is the building from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the most recognizable structure at Petra.)  I think he got a picture of my expression immediately after this realization, I’ll post it later!  We all walked out and got our first glimpse of the Treasury.  

It is a tomb that holds the Nabataean King Aretas IV.  It is breathtaking in person.  I could not really fathom that I was there.  Amazing.  After one more stop with Yusuf, he set us free to explore.   Petra is HUGE!   The Treasury is just the beginning.  We walked to the right down another wider stretch of canyon and into a valley of red rock, with tombs and structures carved all along the walls.  We first went to the Monastery.  It is a hike up to it between a couple cliffs at the far side of Petra, opposite to the Treasury, which I loved.  We passed a few Bedouin women selling necklaces and drinks on the way up.  It was beautiful hike up, but I didn’t expect to be as blown away as I was by the Monastery.  Coming out of the crevice from the hike up, I immediately looked to my right and saw a lot of my peers struggling into a big hole in the rock to take pictures.  I obviously ran over to join them, but then realized what the hole was.  It was the entrance to another building carved out of stone, only even bigger and, in my opinion, more beautiful than the Treasury.  

Its magnificent size and detailed carvings just make up stand there, taking it in for a moment.  It was beautiful.  The best part about the Monastery is that it lies up the mountain, in a big open area near the tops of the desert mountains, with plenty of hiking and exploring and few Bedouin merchants around.  I could have spent days there.  We climbed up to the top of a small peak across from the Monastery, and it was one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen.  

We made a cairn at the top, and just took in the beautiful view for a while.  Then we moved back down from the Monastery, and saw the rest of the carved tombs throughout Petra.  

When we reached the Treasury once again before we left, I rode a camel.  It was AWESOME!

It was just amazing.  The highlight of Jordan, and probably my favorite field trip from the entire semester.  If you have the opportunity, GO!