Day 13 – November 10

Today we head to Petra! A Bucket List item for many of us. The city was built on a terrace. It is pierced from east to west by the Wadi Mūsā (the Valley of Moses). It is one of the places where, according to the Bible, the Israelite leader Moses struck a rock. Water gushed forth from the rock. The valley is enclosed by sandstone cliffs with veins of red and purple. These veins vary to pale yellow. John William Burgon was a 19th-century English biblical scholar. For this reason, he called Petra a “rose-red city half as old as Time.” Petra was carved into the red rocks in the Third Century BC. Members of an Arab tribe known as Nabataeans created this marvel. Aziz Ammad, our Jordanian tour guide showed us the amazing sights of Petra. We walked through Petra’s unique architecture. This is one reason it was named as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. We were in awe of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Al-Khazneh. Also known as the Treasure, it served as a tomb. It features one of the most famous facades in the world. The intricately carved pillars and columns of the tomb towers five stories above the ground. We walked for over two miles. We journeyed through the winding, high-walled gorge known as the Sela. Tectonic forces formed the giant crack in the rock.

We walked forever in the crevice of the stoned walls. We saw only a sliver of the sky between the towering walls. Suddenly, an area appeared with a sight like no other. The Treasure!

Past the Treasure the village opened and there was much to be discovered.

The last mile back out of the sight you can ride a horse, which several opted to do!