Petra, Jordan

Going to Petra was very easy. I was picked up at my hotel in Eilat along with a small group of mostly Russian tourists and we were driven to the Yitchak Rabin border crossing, about 10 minutes ride. After we crossed the border to Jordan we were met on the other side by Osama, the Jordanian partner of our travel agency. He took care of all the paperwork and got our passports stamped. Later he introduced us to Rada, our guide, who spoke both Russian and English. It took us about 2 hours to get to Petra, driving through Wadi Rum and mostly desert terrain with the rugged mountains and the Hijaz Highway (the ancient route by camels to Mecca and Medina) to our right. Rada was very knowledgeable, easy-going guy.He told us many interesting facts about the Jordanian culture and economy, pointed out interesting sites along the way (such as King 'Abdalla's summer palace)and got us to Petra. Here we had a change in guides and all the English speakers were assigned to Ali, a heavy-set guide, with a strong accent. He introduced himself and we started going down the narrow path between the rocks to Petra, approximately 4 km. walk, stopping frequently and pointing out interesting carving on the rocks in different languages, remains of statues of gods, etc. The Nabatean people were pagens but were influenced by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and other nations and this is evident everywhere here. After the long walk down some people prefer taking a camel or a carriage back up, as it is a long steep climb. The Jordanians were very hospitable, many kids running around trying to sell various souvenirs, Bedouins offering rides on horses, camels, donkeys, you have to use your bargaining skills here. I got a nice book about Petra and several other souvenirs.


It is believed that the Nabateian people arrived to the region to escape persecution in Yemen and Saudi-Arabia, and settled in this desolate place within the rocks that was easy to defend. At its pick, Petra had approx. 27,000 residents and occupied an area of 45 square km., a huge city, which in our tour we were able to cover only a tiny piece of. Petra was located on the main trading route to the East and the Nabataian, highly enterprising and talented people, survived by assessing dues on the caravans that passed nearby.They invented sophisticated methods for collecting water and . The Romans captured the city around 106 AD after a long, three-year seize.

Quick trivia:
Do you remember the movie 'Indiana Jones and the last crusade'? - it was filmed in Petra.

I'm attaching several more pictures - note the narrow path, the elephant-shape rock made by nature, the colors of the rocks, simply beautiful!.