Not a history buff, but Petra is OLD

I’ve been to old cathedrals and cities in Europe, but Petra, Jordan goes back to 400 BC when it was built by the Nabateans, an advanced society. You walk through a natural passageway, a slot canyon and Voila! Here is the facade of a massive building with intricate detail 130 feet high. See the little people and camels.

Then on a longer hike through the area you climb the rock mountain (including 990 stairs) and Voila! the monastery—150 feet high! Actually, it was a pre-Cristian temple in the first century and became Christian a few hundred years later after the Nabataeans were gone.

In Amman there are more “modern” ruins: the Roman amphitheater. A group of American college kids had scampered to the top. As you can hear, they found it a little scarier coming down. They’re studying geopolitics in a study abroad program. Lots to talk about in this time and place.Read more