Jordan - Petra, by Aimee

On our third day in Jordan we visited Petra, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.  It was quite a long drive from the city we were staying in, but it was worth it.  There are huge caverns and amazing caves and memorials carved out of rock.  Unlike a lot of other wonders of the world, Petra was a entire city that has survived for a very long time.  It was enormous and we probably walked a total of ten kilometers in it.  The most famous site of course is the Al Keznah ("The Treasury") which is where Indiana Jones and many other movies were filmed in front of it.

A pathway (called the Siq) that we walked through toward the Treasury.  Some people think it was created by an earthquake that caused the passageway to open up.  This made sense because rocks on one side had similar patterns, shapes, and colours to rocks on the other side (like mirror images of each other)

The Treasury, which is actually a misnomer because it contained no treasure when the Bedouins found it.  At the top, middle, it has a carving (it looks like a pot) that Bedouins associated with treasure and that was how it got its name

The Treasury was carved out of the rock face

A temple to Aphrodite.  It is unique at Petra because it is one of the largest free-standing buildings there that has survived (not carved from a rock face).  It is also well-known because of how it was constructed (they put wooden spacers in between the rock blocks) which has helped it survive from 2,000 years ago.  The area is known for having a lot of earthquakes

Aimee and Elizabeth in front of the temple

All of the girls in front of the Temple

You wouldn't know it but it was quite cold and windy, yet it had bright burning sun especially hard on the eyes.  That is why my mom is dressed like that

A mausoleum converted to a Byzantine church, carved into the rock

An amphitheater

The Cardo - a Roman street and marketplace

Us with our guide (in the red jacket)

This was a little market and shopping area in front of the Treasury. where the girls chased some cats around , , ,

or you could have a camel ride (we didn't)

A close up of the market