Next Stop: Petra, The Rose City
Nicknamed the Rose City due to its color, Petra is one of the most easily recognizable destinations in the entire world. Located inside of a deep basin and accessible via a 3/4 of a mile-long gorge, the Rose City was not built but rather carved out of sandstone. The majority of the city is surrounded by steep cliff walls. Dozens of temples, tombs, and buildings lie within, all connected via narrow passageways and fissures within this natural basin.
The unique architecture and jaw-dropping beauty of Petra attracts an increasing number of tourists each year. A record-setting total of 1,135,300 people visited Petra in 2019 — the first year to see over a million visitors. (That equals a staggering 3,100 people per day!)
Petra is not just a UNESCO World Heritage Site but a must-see destination for visitors to Jordan. It’s one of those places that looks cool in the photos you see, but truly awes and amazes you when you’re there in person. Although there is some debate among historians as to when Petra was first properly settled, archeological digs have unearthed pottery from Neolithic settlements dating back as far as 7,000 BC. Nabataean Petra was founded circa 300 BC giving rise to the monuments we see and explore today; urban development progressed with later Roman administration of the city starting at AD 106; Byzantine occupation continued to the seventh century AD. Trade networks that extended throughout much of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world intersected at Petra, bringing strategic and economic prominence.
Exploring Petra
The climb up to the largest of Petra’s monuments, The Monastery, got our blood pumping, but having completed that, it was our second big hike of the day to The High Place of Sacrifice that took the most energy and effort. It was worth all of the 27,000 steps and a few thousand feet of elevation!
The walk into Petra was through a long and increasingly narrow/deep canyon. 
As we wound deeper through the entrance canyon, we could see how difficult it would have been to invade ancient Petra; hence its strategic location. 
With strategic and economic prominence came the impetus to develop water resources fully to sustain demands of increasing population and city elaboration. The Petra water-distribution system included hydraulic technologies, as well as sophisticated designs to promote stable flow and purification systems. 
Our first glance at some of the sandstone carvings of Petra. 
The Treasury made famous by “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. Well protected because it was built into the cliff with a prominent overhang, the Treasury is one of the most well-preserved carvings in Petra.
Dwellings and tombs of Petra. 
The Great Temple – the only free standing building in Petra, three sides of which are still standing today. 
We named this residence “Casper”. 
After climbing 850 steps to the al-Deir Monestary at the far end of Petra, we then hiked to the the vantage point above the Monastery and gained a view of the gorgeous (but inhospitable) canyon on the other side. Far in the distance, a peak at The Great Rift Valley. 
Looking closely at the 10X zoomed picture, you can see a line of sheep on the narrow path across the canyon. 
We were extra careful with our footing here. It was a long way down to the bottom of the canyon. 
A view back to the facade of the al-Deir Monastery. 
Before leaving Petra, we hiked an additional 700 steps up to what is known as “The High Place of Sacrifice”. 
“The High Place” contains a 25′ by 45′ open court with a strange ridge in the middle where something might “have stood at one time. Or maybe a sacrificial altar…… 
We say goodbye & goodbye to Petra from a ridge overlooking the famous valley.
-> Video: 360 degree from Petra’s High Place of Sacrifice.
Wadi Rum
Our next stop was another UNESCO World Heritage Site and truly iconic destination: Wadi Rum, the largest valley in Jordan. We spent a night under the stars at a luxurious domed tent camo. The following morning after breakfast we went on a two hour jeep tour through the sandy desert.
Shots of Wadi Rum in the 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia kick-started Jordan’s tourism industry. Since then more than a dozen movies have filmed scenes here, including two of the Star Wars films and the Ridley Scott / Matt Damon epic The Martian.
On to Wadi Rum and our “space tents” – the name we gave them because of the modernistic look. The curtains pulled back to give us a view of the nighttime stars. 
We got to our Wadi Rum camp just as the light from the late afternoon sun reached its best. 
In the twilight, our tents really did look like something out of the film “The Martian”. 
The dining room was built into the side of a sandstone mountain and magnificently decorated. 
The food at the camp was OK but not great. However, the decor and ambiance of the dining room was definitely a “10”. 
After spending the night in the desert camp, we embarked on an early morning 4×4 tour of the desert. The dunes were a deep amber-orange. 
A 10x zoom to Shauna at the top of the dune. 
We can easily picture Matt Damon zooming across the desert floor in his Martian buggy. 
Serenely beautiful landscape stretching for miles. 
We are about to hike into this crevice…. 
…because our guide told us that we would eventually find a water supply. 
The ‘Little Bridge’ will hold one of us… 
….and two of us…. 
…but just in case Mark cracked it, he decide to lend some support. 
Going native, we purchased scarves from a local Wadi Rum bedouin who then wrapped our heads. 
Special thanks to our Wadi Rum guide Adam, originally from Sudan, who showed us his favorite spots in the desert.
Bethany
We skipped the more scenic, but also more hilly and time-consuming, King’s Highway to hightail it on the desert freeway back north. After a quick stop at Mount Nebo – where Moses was reputed to behold the Promised Land that he could not enter – and the well-preserved and restored Byzantine mosaics in the Moses Memorial, our skillful driver, Akram, barreled down the hill to catch the last tour of Bethany Beyond the Jordan. Officially recognized as the Baptism Site of Jesus in the Jordan River (John 1:24-28), the location is also designated on the famous Holy Land mosaic map of Madaba, as it was a pilgrimage site for early Christians.
As we made our way back to Amman, we stopped by Mt. Nebo, which is significant because of its role in the Old Testament. The Bible says that Mount Nebo was where Moses lived out his final days and saw the Promised Land, which he would never enter. It is said that Moses’ body may be buried here, although that has yet to be proven. Shauna is pointing at Jericho which can be just barely seen through the haze. 
We then traveled to “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” which has been venerated as the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus – since the late Roman/early Byzantine periods, when early Christians began making pilgrimages to the area. 
Shauna standing at the ‘the spot’. 
An aerial view of the Jordan River at Bethany. 
The Israeli side – across the Jordan River from Jordan.
Monks and hermits lived here during the Byzantine period and the archaeological remains of early churches can be seen. Several new and modern churches have been and will be built in the area.
The board of trustees of the Baptism Site Commission donated the specific pieces of lands where the new churches are being built. These were given to each denomination as a waqf’ land which cannot be sold or used for another purpose and the proceedings of which must be used for charitable purposes.
There will be twelve new churches in all, with some of them having guest houses, and residence for monks/priests. The Catholic Church will be the largest church complex in the Middle East [30,000 sqm]. The churches are designed in traditional architectural form, which clearly reflects the heritage of each particular denomination.
Arriving in Amman
Akram kindly extended his long last day with us to give us a quick tour of the highlights of Amman, the bustling capital city of this historic country – mostly after dark no less! Though closed for the day, we visited the Citadel and Roman Theatre before heading to the financial district and upscale suburbs so we could get a feel for this diverse city. We were duly impressed by both the old and new parts of the city.
This 6,000 seat Roman theater was built in the 2nd century and is still in use today for special cultural events. 
We had one last look at the Roman theater and surrounding area from one of the overlooking hills.
Though we would have enjoyed one more day to really see Amman, and of course, we are always up for longer hikes in beautiful spots, our 4 day tour of Jordan was actually just about right. We’re happy to have made it to this little jewel of a nation, where you can pack in many very diverse experiences in a relatively short time period if you put your mind to it .. and have a great guide! Thanks to Akram, and kimkim for a super trip!
Awesome guys. Love following your adventure while working away in front of my computer 🙂