Arrived to the port of Al’Aqaba this morning. Across the gulf one can see Egypt and Israel. Jordan shares additional land borders with Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. We were met by our guide and driver from Petra Night Tours to begin our adventure in Jordan.
Drove out of town to Wadi Rum, otherwise known as Valley of the Moon, the setting for the film Lawrence of Arabia, and more recently for Martian. Stopped at the Visitor Center and got in our 4X4s to set out to the desert. Watched a group of school children having a blast climbing up and sliding down a huge sand dune.
Next we made our way to one of the many tourist camps to enjoy a traditional lunch in the desert. Here one can also stay overnight in one of the tents, or new domes which have modern plumbing and air conditioning – my kind of camping!
Then it was on to Little Petra, north of Petra. This is known as Siq Al Barid (Cold Siq) since almost no sun can reach inside to warm the place, great during the hot summer, but not so great on the cooler winter nights. This was a stopover for traders and merchants on their way to Petra.
We then made our way back to the town of Wadi Musa and our hotel for the night, The Petra Guest House, right outside the entrance gate to Petra. There is a pub at the hotel called the Cave Bar in a 2,000 year old tomb. No partying for me since I had a five AM wake-up call for the next morning.
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