We left our hotel early to beat the crowds to Petra. Luckily, our hotel the Movenpick, sits directly across the street from the entrance and soon we were making our descent into The Sik. The Sik is the narrow cavern taking you to the ancient city of Petra and the famous Treasury. Petra was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985 and is considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Wikipedia states: “The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and was settled by the Nabataeans, a nomadic Arab people, in the 4th century BC. Petra would later become the capital city of the Nabataean Kingdom in the second century BC. The Nabataeans invested in Petra’s proximity to the incense trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub, which gained them considerable revenue. Unlike their enemies, the Nabataeans were accustomed to living in the barren deserts and thus were able to defend their kingdom. They were particularly skillful in agriculture, stone carving, and rainwater harvesting.”

The walk takes about 1 hour over sometimes very uneven terrain. Our guide Lauy provided commentary from time to time and the pace was very good. It’s mostly downhill the entire way, and there was so much to look at, it was a bit overwhelming. At one point, he tricked us to get into a single line, for “safety reasons” and had us move to the one side of the trail and look backwards. Of course, we did what he asked. We’re all looking back at where we had come, and then he said look the other way, and when we turned around, there it was! The Treasury! It was awe inspiring and there may or may not have been a tear or two in our eyes.

The most iconic carving in Petra, The Treasury, stands at 131 ft tall and it is imposing. Made of iron-laden sandstone, its red color is bold and makes it look even more impressive. After we had taken photos, Marshall continued on down the trail to see other monuments and burial grounds, while Sharon stayed behind just to bask in the glory The Treasury and to talk to our guide Lauy who was happy to share stories from his years of guiding people to Petra.

We took a provided golf cart back out of Petra, which was a thrill in itself. We could barely hang on and as it was very bumpy, almost pitched off several times.  We had lunch and then boarded the bus for a 2-hour drive to Wadi Rum, which will be covered in a separate post.

Tomorrow: Madaba, Travel to Cairo