Mini Petra

 [For Sunday, June 25th]

Readers,

Our second full day in Jordan started with a commodity that is readily welcomed, a well put together continental breakfast. Compared to those in Morocco and Egypt, the spread of breakfast foods available, and the hotels themselves in Jordan are much nicer. So after a couple glasses of mango orange juice and some pastries, we set off from Amman to work through a variety of stops to get to Petra. The first stop on our drive was at Mount Neab, where Moses once stood and looked out over the promised land, which albeit peppered with some olive trees, remains fairly barren. 

From there, we continued on in our mini bus to a mosaic shop where the majority of the pieces were handmade by people with disabilities, which was nice to see. The drive then descended back into a city, which I can’t remember the name of, to see a church which houses an ancient mosaic of the mapped out holy land, along with other mosaic pieces. From there, we came down through the suk to stop in for some snacks and to get some water, before we took a short drive to get some falafel sandwiches for lunch. 

The day concludes with a visit to the site aptly named “Mini Petra” as the sandstone canyon was covered in carved out dwellings and slippery stairs cut into the rock walls. After about an hour of scurrying up the stone and ducking into the ancient temples and restaurants, we sent back for the hotel. Back at our hotel we were greeted by a sunset view on the roof and a traditional Jordanian meal in the hotel restaurant. It was a long travel day but the sightseeing and food made it all worth it. 

Alastair