Petra (day 1)

Picked our car up this morning which will be our ride for the rest of the week. We were strongly advised not to drive in Amman as it can be a bit crazy, but the rest of the country is pretty much covered by a choice of 3 highways that run north to south, so we picked one and headed to Petra. Lanes are disregarded and speed bumps pop out of nowhere, but aside from one swerve for a wayward camel the journey was pretty relaxed and enjoyable.

After a quick kebab for lunch we started our walk through the Siq towards the Treasury which is the building I have in mind when I think of Petra (and I think the one in Indiana Jones but I haven’t seen it). It was about a 30 minute stroll and the view when you turn that last corner is as spectacular as it looks. Tourism is relatively low at the moment so we didn’t have to battle crowds for photos, and ended up having a photoshoot with a local Bedouin who got fully into director mode, resulting in a hilariously awkward video.

Tomorrow we’re planning a longer walk from the other side of the route so we headed back for a cold beer before dinner. One thing we’re noticing is that a lot of the restaurants are dry, but they’re definitely not stingy on the portions.Read more