Priceless....

2 hour drive with a Bedouin taxi driver - $35 JD

Map of Petra (visitor center man: "Don't tell the others. This is my last map in English" wink wink) - $0 JD

Ticket entrance to Petra - $20 JD

Cross off another Wonder of the World from my list!- Priceless

Two days of our vacation were spent in Petra, Jordan. Amazing! It is so hard to describe how incredible this place is. These huge temples and burial tombs are carved out of the red rock walls in the middle of nowhere. I can only imagine what it must have been like for the person who discovered this gem. To get there you have to walk through a narrow canyon about a mile long and then it opens up to reveal the Treasury.


The first night we were there we did "Petra by Night". They line the walkways and fill the Treasury with 1,500 candles. It was so cool to walk through the canyon and into the Treasury in the dark with just the light of the candles and the moon. Then they served herbal tea and played traditional Bedouin music. It was so great and definitely one of the highlights of the trip.



The next morning we got up early and went to Petra to hike around and explore. The day was so fantastic including riding camels, breathtaking views, standing in awe at the Monastery, having fun taking pictures in the caves (which were inhabited until 1980 - one of the local guides showed us the cave he was born in!)
"Shalom in the Home!"

"Cingular in Petra - More bars in more places""Do I look like an American tourist or what?"

Jordan was such an interesting country. Very Arab, obviously. But it was my first time seeing women totally veiled in person. In this picture you can see the wife completely covered and her husband in shorts and a shirt with the sleeves cut off.

After two fun filled days in Petra we headed back to Israel. We crossed the border to Eilat, a city on the Red Sea, hung out on the beach and even tried to part the seas. We randomly stumbled upon a concert at the Hilton and partied with the Israeli's in style. The singer sounded like Sting, if Sting were to sing in Hebrew! Then it was a long bus ride back to Jerusalem, followed by a few winks of sleep before another big day in the Holy Land!