Lomography

Petra and Wadi Rum
on April 27th, 2008 (1 vote)

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How could I come to Jordan without experiencing PETRA?!!! We [myself and my travel companions] took a bumpy bus ride from Aqaba to Petra…nothing could prepare me for the awe-inspiring beauty that awaited. In order to get to the heart of Petra, you must walk along a mud road for about 15-20 minutes, which soon becomes closed in on both sides by gigantic walls of rock. The shades of the rock/mud is initially red, but changes shades and forms at almost every corner you turn. The sheer height of the sandstone walls were incredible…and our excitement only grew as we got closer to the Khazneh, or treasury…the building Petra is most famous for. It was immensely huge…majestic in all its right…and the intriguing detail and beauty of the building, carved into the rock blew me away.

I was stunned and could only stare for minutes…time floated by like in a dream and even to this day, my Petra experience remains a little hazy…almost unreal. We decided to rise to the challenge of climbing the never-ending steps [or so it seemed], in order to reach the highest peak in Petra, where a monastery lies…it was exhausting, but worth every minute, because the view from the top was amazing. We came across a prophet’s tomb up there and just sat for a long while, taking all the impressions and views in. I am already longing to return to Petra because I don’t think I was able to do it justice with the time spent there…I believe there is so much more to it than meets the eye. But what I did see was enough to know it is one of the most amazing sites you can encounter while exploring this earth.

Leaving Petra, we didn’t want to miss the famous deserts of Wadi Rum…at sunset, since we heard from travelers and locals that it was magical at that time of the day. We had to chase the sun…and hired jeeps to escort us across the desert…sliding and bumping around…our drivers were not of the gentle variety! To add more adventure to the day, our jeep kept breaking down, which meant a 5 minute delay every time, while the driver jumped out of the jeep and started banging things around [obviously not knowing what the problem was or caring to find out]. All we were concerned about was being out there, perched on a rock, in time to watch the sun go down and the rocks turn the magical red color we had heard so much about. We made it…just in time…and savored every moment of it. If you were to ask me now exactly what was so special about Wadi Ram…I honestly couldn’t tell you because all it consists of are sporadic rock formations dispersed in the desert sand. But on that night, being the only ones out in the desert, the moment seemed to be ours and it remains one of the most special Jordan experiences for me to this day.