Fahrt nach Petra - 3. Tag

Friday/Saturday (weekend in Arab countries) - it promises to be beautiful but also crowded in Aqaba - so we decided to go 100km north - to ancient Petra. The interesting thing about this day: the journey there...

The sandstone mountains are impressive and gives the feeling of constant movement and decay, even though it appears mountainous. And for someone from the forest/water and meadow-filled region of North Brandenburg, the barren desert is as inhospitable as a trip to the moon. Yet people live here in small settlements and individual dwellings in the middle of the desert. One wonders where they live and how they sustain themselves and their camels, donkeys, and goats...

We start with the minibus and despite its 727,000 km, it still looks good and we trust its brakes as it often goes uphill/downhill.

We stop at the checkpoint - the entrance to the Aqaba region. There is only one official road to the sea in Jordan and this region is said to be the safest place in the entire Middle East.

We also have 'official' oncoming traffic on the highway, but we drive slowly and keep to the left - so nothing can happen.

Arrival in Wadi Musa, the town with many hotels - normally about 1 million visitors come here to start their hiking tour to the canyons of Petra, but more on that tomorrow...