Petra

I've been looking forward to this for a long time: Petra!

Finally, the time has come - we start at 7.30 am, it's only a 5-minute walk from our hotel to the entrance. We walk through the Siq, the 'shaft', through an almost 70 meters deep canyon. After 1.5km, it comes into view: the Treasury. Like so many others, I film the last steps, from the Siq until the Treasury is fully revealed. I regret that afterwards, actually, you shouldn't see it for the first time through the lens...

But now I'm standing in front of it and I'm almost moved to tears. It's majestic. I simply can't understand how something like this can be carved out of rocks - mistakes are not allowed. The Nabataeans must have been truly outstanding artists. 

I can't help but think of Indiana Jones. I'm not the only one: I overhear some people saying, walk to the left, that's how Indiana saw it. It's also no coincidence that there are shops with the name 'Indiana Jones Market' or 'Indy Shop' at the entrance. 

What you never see in the movie or in photos, of course, are the many other people. Everyone congregates here in front of the Treasury. Right at that moment, I decide that I will come back again tomorrow morning, because we have a 2-day pass. Slowly, we continue walking along the main path towards the Royal Tombs, which are just as impressive and even larger than the Treasury. However, they are less well preserved and therefore probably less known. As I look at all the monuments, I think: how did they carve this out of the rock (an amphitheater?!)? It remains a mystery - but it seems that, as highly successful traders in a strategically excellent location, they had enough money to hire the best artists and craftsmen. 

We also visit the Monastery: 900 steps up and down. I was a bit worried before this ascent (or rather descent) because I didn't know the condition of the stairs. After all, they are carved out of the rock. With good sneakers or trekking shoes, they are no problem. I definitely wouldn't want to climb them if it was raining: slippery! The footwear of some visitors is also questionable, I don't want to look too closely. Along the way, there are stalls where you can buy souvenirs. After about 40 minutes, we reach the top - wow! The Monastery is gigantic! We (meaning me and someone else from the group) climb onto one of the surrounding rocks and enjoy our lunch with a view of the Monastery. 

Afterwards, we continue walking to the 'best view' (there are at least 5 of them up here). From up here, you can see all the way to Israel. But above all, you can see the many different types of rocks: sandstone, limestone, granite. We have tea at one of the stalls, owned by one of the Bedouins. We simply have to take a photo with him because he has such an interesting face and says he looks like the Jordanian Jack Sparrow himself! 

Once we have returned from the Monastery, we take a different route back to the main path (via the Lion Winged Temple and the Church). It's so exciting to see how the Nabataeans incorporated all kinds of influences into their dwellings and art. You can find Greek, Roman, and Egyptian styles mixed with the style of the Nabataeans themselves. 

The day was long, we only got back to the hotel shortly before 5.30 pm. I still need to process the impressions of the day, you see so many things that are hard to believe. 

I'm going back tomorrow, no question about it!