Sella Hotel Wadi Musa

... I feel perfectly safe there. The 35 year daughter and her mum tell us of their trip through Iran and how wonderful the people were there too, how perfectly at ease they felt. The middle east has all the mod cons of the west and more, I love it, although enough with the Pita bread, no more seriously. I leave Petra with about 600 photographs, crazy, there is going to be a lot of culling there. We head into the Wadi Rum desert into a camp with cool tents and ...

... place. It's more beautiful and breathtaking then either of us could have ever imagined. It isn't until you actually stand next to The Treasury and The Monastery, that you realise the magnitude & the beauty of what has been built here. The walk down the Siq into Petra was a highlight in itself with massive rock cliffs easily over 100 meters high on each side of the path. We were able to spot some of the ...

... cheese and jam (no surprises here) and banana and fortified continued the walk of Petra’s ruins. We passed so many facades carved into rocks that many were high up and the climb in the hot sun didn’t appeal so we looked up at them from the ground. Along a roadway like a Roman road we found the remains of a temple with columns in ruins and an archaeological dig site. Many of the treasures of Petra have only been found in the last 20 years as archaeologists have ...

... could not buy. My new friends made calls on our behalf to their friends in the area, and we were accorded a hospitality that was just amazing. We got discounts on hotel rooms, admissions, and other things. Doors just opened up for us.

For instance, on the day we arrived in Petra, it was recommended that we might want to visit a Turkish Bathhouse, where I had my first Turkish bath. This was such a self-indulgent thing to do, and I loved every minute of it. I was first ...

... whey could only have about 5ppl wide max and they were attacked above by the locals and would have never made it far. This 50km squared city was amazing with full irrigation down into the city. This was the only water supply in the area so all the caravans had to come through Petra. You have to be really careful walking down as there are the old city streets which horse and carrages race up and down with the odd camel as well.

We were all so excited as we got closer and closer ...

... sleepy, hot cab ride for 1.5 hours, and we were back at the border crossing. X-rays, paperwork, no-man's-land, more x-rays, money changing, and a bumpy ride back to our hotel. A nice open-air dinner, and blogging while watching "Israel Idol" (auditions), and here we are. Tomorrow: rental car and a long drive through the desert to Ein Gedi, a kibbutz guest house on the Dead Sea. I am hoping my scratches will heal enough before taking a dip in the salty water on Tuesday.

... you walk through a beautiful siq (which looks like a canyon, but is actually one block of rock shoved apart) for over 1 km. You have 200 m rock walls towering over you and sometimes the walls are only a few metres apart. Finally you come around a curve and catch your first look at the Treasury. It is the most famous building in Petra, the best preserved and it really is breath-taking. It was built as a tomb but apparently ...

... sol es pon. Un parell de dies son suficients per visitar l'antiga capital del poble nabateu. La majoria de la gent venen per un dia, pero com que jo tinc temps i tampoc es questio d'estar sempre anant amunt i avall, he decidit quedar-m'hi un parell de dies: el primer per fer la visita de rigor a tot el recinte i el segon per fer unes rutes a peu a traves del Wadi Muthlim (un barranc que hi ha l'entrada del recinte i que permet fer una excursio fora de les rutes tradicionals que ...

... of the window. Very beautiful and hilly country. Much more developed than Egypt. Stopped soon after coming off the highway to a vantage point where I could see Israel. You could see exactly where it started because the land changed from sand and rock to green fields. Very high up from where we were, roads very steep and driver driving like a madman. Starting to get used to it but overtaking uphill on blind corners is a bit too much for me. Closed my eyes and hoped for the best ...

L'hôtel fait un peu "auberge espagnole". Tenu par "Valentine", qui lui a donné son nom, il voit passer djeunz du monde entier, pour la plupart seulement une nuit sur Petra. On m'a dit "tu verras Petra", "merveille du monde" et autres formules mirobolantes ; je reservai pour deux nuits à mon arrivée, achetai un billet trois jours. Un point pratique avant tout, ca ne paye ...