Jordan

Aqaba, Jordan

Today we decided to divide and conquer. Tom headed off on a 9 hour trip to Petra, while I went on a shorter 5 hour trip to Wadi Rum. We’ve been given pre-excursion trip information about the pink and yellow sandstone in both Wadi Rum and Petra. Now, we do realize that both are UNESCO heritage sites. But, we have to say, as we often do when visiting some of these amazing international places, the sandstone here is remarkably similar to the red sandstone we can see at Jemez in New Mexico. And the striated sandstone in the Siq is almost identical to the wind and water carved sandstone in Antelope Canyon. Just sayin’—we have some amazing natural topography in the US.

However, the Romans came to the Nabatean crossroads of Petra in the 4th century BC. It was a thriving trading city with an advanced water system that provided water to the city of Petra using narrow channels that can still be seen today. Around 60 AD there was an earthquake which unfortunately disrupted the water flow. Soon after, Petra was abandoned and eventually became an archeology, tourist and filmmaking site. (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade—but no crusading knights, holy grails, or tricky death traps).

Wadi Rum is better known as the area where Lawrence of Arabia lived, and the movie was filmed here as well. This is Bedouin country, and I visited a camp with food, dancing and a wild 4WD ride an hour each way. Pictures to be added later.

I’m able to upload this post on cell service via T-Mobile’s free international data service. Funnily enough, while I’ve just visited Jordan today, my phone has been to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan. Yep, that’s how close the borders are in this part of the world.

Lots of great pictures to add to this post upon return....