Umm Şayḩūn

A big day of walking to visit this iconic site. Our hotel is close to the entrance of Petra and from there it is a 2km walk to the Treasury. I loved walking through the Siq which is a narrow chasm, about 1.2km long that opens onto the Treasury. The towering walls and fantastic natural colours in the rocks was quite special.

At the Treasury, Brad (and several other group members) climbed to a viewpoint with the aid of one of the local Bedouin guides. I declined because I'm carrying a foot injury after a fall a couple of days ago (typical of me to fall over - if there is uneven path, I'll find it) - besides, that's what I bring Brad along for - he is the photographer!

There is a lot more to Petra than just the Treasury. Walking around the Treasury there is the remains of an entire city complete with shops, tombs, residential area, palaces and amphitheatre. There was also the option to walk to viewpoints of the Monastery and Sacrificial place and those that did them found it quite exhausting. Even the walk back to the hotel was a steady incline all the way - funny, didn't seem to notice we were going downhill all the way in - and we were glad to get back to our hotel.

That evening we had the option of going to Petra by night which meant walking back down to the Treasury along a candlelit pathway. The activity was ok but could have been improved greatly - probably not really worth the 17 dinars (about $34AUD) pp, but as we will never be in Jordan again it is just another experience to add to the list.

Before leaving Petra the next morning we visited the Petra Museum and also Little Petra before one last photo stop overlooking the whole of the Petra site. On our way to Wadi Rum for a night in a Bedouin desert camp which should be interesting.En savoir plus