Today was an exciting day for me.... My friend Vlad, whom I met on the 50 Day Tales of the South Pacific Voyage last fall picked me up early this morning in Aqaba. We had a big day planned for Petra, the Rose City built by the Nabataean Society in the 4th century B.C. We travelled northeast to Petra, admiring the amazing scenery along the way as we passed the Wadi Rum desert. Our main goal was to climb the cliffs of this UNESCO World Heritage site. We made the trek through the winding sandstone canyon known as the Siq to the first most famous site, the Treasury. Every time I visit Petra I am amazed by this impressive jaw-dropping grandeur..... We made our way along the road to achieve our main mission, to climb to the Ad-Deir or the Monastery..... It’s a long climb with 900 steps but worth all the effort! We continued on to the cliffs some 200m or so north of the Monastery, which is a dramatically isolated High Place, with godlike views over the peaks down to the far-distant Wadi Araba. Once we were finished there we climbed down the mountain and immediately headed out for another major challenge, the Al-Khubtha trail. This was taking us up the mountain around the Royal Tombs to a cliff viewpoint overlooking the Treasury. This was an hour climb up the mountain but again, worth every painful step.... At any point as we climbed the Al-Khubtha trail the views were breathtaking. What a spectacular day!!!! It was such a special day visiting with my friend Vlad and even more special that we could explore Petra together.... Russian/USA relations were never better!!!!! This is part 3 of 3 parts...
Beautiful photos.
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