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Petra
CROSSING JORDAN
The day after the Pyramids, I head out to Petra,
Jordan which is an adventure itself. I catch a 6-hour overnight bus
from Cairo, across the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt port city Nuweiba, then a
3-hour ferry up the Red Sea to Jordan's port city Aqaba, and then 2-hour
taxi ride to Wadi Musa, the town outside of Petra.
PETRA
If you're like "What's Petra?" -don't
worry, you probably have already seen it. Remember Indiana Jones and
the Last Crusade? The city facade build into the tall red rock at the
end? That's in Petra, an ancient city built into the red cliffs of
this canyon valley in Jordan. It's just hours south of the West Bank
(don't worry, it's safe in Jordan - the Jordans get offended if you imply
their country is unsafe; my cab driver calls Jordan the Switzerland of the
Middle East).
When I get to the canyon valley park Petra is in, I hire another guide who gives me Petra's history. The ancient Nabateans built Petra in ancient times, but the Romans and others found out about it, giving it its Roman column influences. The city remained a lost legend for centuries until the early 1900s when a Swiss explorer disguised himself and asked the then-resident Bedouin tribes who lived in Petra if he could visit for religious reasons. Well, the trick worked. Petra was rediscovered, the archaeologists and tourists moved in. So my guide Solomon takes me down the canyon path. With the valley's red rock and craggy formations, it looks like I could be in Arizona, until we see these three distinct blocks, each the size of a house, carved out of the canyon wall. We then walk down thru the sic, a narrow path cutting through huge 300-foot high red rocks on either side of you. Solomon tells me an ancient earthquake split the earth, creating this little path the Nabateans liked as the narrow entrance helped protect their city.
We walk thru the sic, turn the corner, and then BAM, Wonderstruck again. The face of the Treasury, the columned facade from the movie is right there, and it's huge. Unfortunately, there are three guards in front of the door so I can't venture in, so we continue along the path cause the Treasury's just the foyer. Turns out there 's a whole city built into the rock valley, with more than 20 facades of tombs and temples in the whole canyon, along with a 7000-seat Greek-style amphitheater and the ruined column remains of the town's market square. Except now, only this little Jordanian brother and sister pair is trying to sell cool-looking red and white striped rocks to tourists, so I buy a few. Then I hike a half hour to the monastery, which is even bigger than the Treasury. All of these buildings built into the red cliffs makes me wonder if the Native Americans would've tried to do the same if they could see it all. Well, that's Week 1. Good start with 2 Wonders of the World (Pyramids, Petra) and a dozen landmarks (tombs, temples).
Next stop: Prague
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 Petra camel driver: avoid taking a camel; much more fun to walk.
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