Ahhh.... Petra!

 After a great sleep in our tent and the best breakfast buffet so far (except they didn't have lattes), 

we picked up our box lunches and once again got in the back of a 4 x 4 to go to Reception where our driver and his luxury tourist car (some kind of Chinese make only available in Jordan) was waiting for us. (The box lunch  was kind of great and kind of weird- a chicken burger and fries, amoung other things, hot and ready at 9:00 a.m.)

Today we headed to the town of Wadi Musa and the ancient archeological site known as Petra. 

First, though, we stopped at Little Petra, a fifteen minute drive from the main site. It's just what the name implies- a mini version of the narrow canyons containing buildings carved (not constructed) into the walls. 


These structures were made by the Nabataean peoples, inhabitants of ancient northern Arabia and Eastern Mediterranean. They were originally a nomadic tribe, but settled and ruled the area from the third century BC until about 100 AD. They controled the Silk Road trading route and this was central to their success.

Little Petra seems to have been a suburb of Petra. It is pretty amazing to walk through the narrow sandstone canyons and discover the buildings carved into the walls.

We then headed to probably our favourite hotel yet- The Old Village Resort. It is actually an old village- built in the late 1800s by the Nawafleh tribe on a Nabatean site but abandoned in 1975 when the last of the villagers moved into the nearby town. The family that runs the hotel are descendents of these villagers. 














The structures are still in their original positions- no hallways or staircases except for the steps to the different street levels- and it still looks like a little village. There are winding streets and areas of unexcavated ruins.



The outdoor pool was beautiful but too cold for humans- maybe suitable for a Polar Bear Dip!

The manager, who spent some time giving Barry and me a tour of the facilities, lived in the village as a child. He also upgraded our room when I mentioned that I was sorry I hadn't mentioned to our travel agent to request a room with a view. I had asked the desk clerk if our original room had a view and she said, "Not so much" and I don't think she was very pleased when the manager instructed her to change it. We were, though!

                        The red arrow shows the location of our upgraded room.

 We looked out to the town and the mountains beyond which hide the lost city of Petra.


hotel room views at night

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