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<\/a>Departing Aqaba. \u00a0Across the water is Aiyalat, Israel.<\/p>\nThe drive is two and \u00bd hours.\u00a0 The first section is a major freeway that climbs up from the port.\u00a0 It\u2019s very reminiscent of Tijeras Canyon coming out of Albq., only a lot longer.\u00a0 It\u2019s the main road to Amman.\u00a0 We hit a more gradually climbing section, with occasional small villages on the roadside, as well as several small groups of wandering camels.\u00a0 We finally turned off the main road and began a serious drive up a two-lane road to Petra.\u00a0 Near the top of the drive, we took a rest stop at a gift shop, bartering with sales staff, etc.<\/p>\n We arrived at the Petra Visitors Center around 10:30am, where our driver bought our tickets.\u00a0 He then walked us to the Petra Guides office, where we were introduced to our English-speaking guide. \u00a0\u00a0He\u2019s responsible for a two-hour walking tour downhill into Petra.\u00a0 It\u2019s somewhat over a mile going in, then, obviously, an uphill climb coming out.\u00a0Our walk in was leisurely, with numerous stops to discuss the history of the development of the area, first by the Nabbateans, and later the Romans.\u00a0 The first segment was a gravel, rock-filled road.\u00a0 The entrance to the Sig, the narrow canyon that hid the site for thousands of year was dramatic.\u00a0 The road through the Siq was mostly limestone pavers, brought in by the Romans.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t too hard to negotiate, but Judy and I both are nervous about sprained ankles, etc.<\/p>\n For us, one of the most interesting notes of the ancient city was the handling of the clay pipes on one side of the path for the water for humans, and open irrigation canals carved into the walls on the other side for animals and more basic needs.<\/p>\n Water Channels carved into the side walls.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When we finally arrived at \u201cThe Treasury\u201d, the iconic fa\u00e7ade of Petra, it was especially dramatic, bathed in sunlight as we came out of the shade.\u00a0 We wandered around the area with lots of other tourists and hawkers selling camel rides, etc.\u00a0 Then we continued to walk down to the main city section and \u201cThe Theater\u201d.<\/p>\n After admiring the carvings and buildings, we began the long ascent out of Petra.\u00a0 It took us about 50 minutes to make the walk, with a few short breaks.\u00a0 It\u2019s beautiful going in, and equally beautiful coming out.\u00a0 Back at the top, we met our driver, who took us to eat at a Jordanian buffet, with a nice variety of foods common to the area.\u00a0After a relaxed lunch, we began the drive to Wadi Rum, a national reserve area a few kilometers off the road back to Aqaba.<\/p>\n About 70 kilometers out of Aqaba, we turned off the main road, headed to Wadi Rum.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know much about the area except that it was where much of Lawrence of Arabia was filmed.\u00a0 We also were told that more recently \u201cThe Martian\u201d was filmed in the area.<\/p>\n Words or photos can\u2019t describe the beauty or vastness of the area.\u00a0 It\u2019s gorgeous, and empty.\u00a0 There were so many wide-open areas with huge mountains of rock jutting out of the ground.\u00a0No words\u2026\u2026\u2026.?<\/p>\n We had a driver hired for two hours to take us out into the area to discover some of the more picturesque views.\u00a0 We effectively had only a little over an hour before darkness, but we made the most of it.\u00a0There weren\u2019t really any roads.\u00a0Our driver just took off across the desert headed to our next destination.\u00a0 I regret that we didn\u2019t have more time to spend here.\u00a0 We were told the area is home to the world championships of rock climbing.\u00a0 Not hard to believe.<\/p>\n At dusk, we left Wadi Rum, heading back to Aqaba port.\u00a0 As we neared the city, I asked a question about the nearness of Saudi Arabia, I should have looked closer at a map.\u00a0 Israel is 3 kilometers away.\u00a0 What I thought was more of Aqaba across the harbor was really the Israeli City of Aiyalat.\u00a0Further south on the east the coast became Saudi Arabia, and about 20 kilometers south, the coast on the west turned into Egypt.\u00a0 There are a lot of borders around here.\u00a0 Aqaba is Jordan\u2019s only port.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We made it back to the ship around 7:00pm.\u00a0We were both dead!\u00a0 I was so tired, I couldn\u2019t get the energy to go eat.\u00a0I went down for some ice cream for both of us, bringing it back to the room.\u00a0 I tried to stay awake for a little longer (not sure why), but gave up fighting it around 8:30, and the snoring began.\u00a0 We were barely out of the harbor before I was out of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve been looking forward to our Petra visit as much an anything we\u2019re visiting this entire trip.\u00a0We scheduled a private tour to ensure we\u2019d get everywhere we wanted in the short time we have.\u00a0 It took a few minutes for … Continue reading <\/a>Roadside camels<\/p>\n<\/a>Looking across Jordan<\/p>\n<\/a>“Modern” Jordan<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>First view of “The Treasury”<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>“The Theater”<\/p>\n<\/a>The exit from Ancient Petra<\/p>\n<\/a>Train used in “Lawrence of Arabia”<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n