Petra!!

GPS Track

Our morning routine will consist of hymn singing, scripture reading and prayer......

Oh, did I forget shopping. Some deals were bartered here. The place is well named since it is about halfway on the 150 mile trip from Amman and Petra. We made a second stop on the way back for those last minute purchases.

First sight walking in were these rock structures called jinn-blocks, sometimes called God-blocks. They were used as tombs.

Right across from the jinn-blocks was the Obelisk Tomb (top half) and the Bab as-SiqTriclinium (lower half). These two were carved at different times. And the carriage rides were an easier way in and out of the old Petra. Some of us wished we had taken them out as it was uphill all the way back to the entry.

Next was the dam (to keep floods out of the siq passage to the townsite. Straight ahead was the tunnel, constructed to carry the flood waters diverted by the dam. The way down the siq was off to the left of this photo.

Trinity Youth, this is your leader!

The subject of all our anticipation was the first glimpse of the Treasury through the narrow siq canyon. To say awe inspiring would not give it the credit it deserves. Eyes welled up.

Ramsi, our guide, tells us about the Treasury. Earlier, Indiana Jones was seen riding in the foreground.

Just past theTreasury was a 6000 seat theatre carved out of solid rock.

The area just NW of the theatre is called the open siq. All of those carved entries were either homes or tombs.

These are the Royal Tombs just east of the main city.

We did not make it all the way into the old city and the colonnaded streets of Petra, but they are just to the left around this corner.

Seven or eight of our group decided to take the camel ride back to the Treasury. This is Becca and Gwen. Gwen is saying, "Hi, Mom, from Petra."

Some of us are considering moving to Jordan. The hijab is an easy way to keep warm, dress up as Yasser Arafat next Halloween, or just hide bad hair!