Day 16 - Petra

We started our day early. We had a three hour bus ride to get to Petra. About half way there, we had to stop for potty breads and to do a little shopping. The place we stopped at had some very interesting but expensive stuff. I didn't buy much - just a little.

We spent most of the day here. It involved a lot of walking. To walk to the end of our guided tour and back was about 6 miles. Fortunately, we had a fantastic weather day. Not too hot. Not too cold. It was a "baby bear day" - just right!


While we didn't notice the sign until we were leaving, we got quite a kick out of it. How does one determine whether or not a horse is happy?

Some people used the ponies to get to the canyon.

This is one of the many tombs we saw. Our guide said that when they carved the tombs, they started at the top and worked down.

Many people, especially those with mobility problems, took these carriages to the canyon. We walked.
These guys are the "Nabatean Guards". The Nabateans were the first known inhabitants of Petra. They guys seemed to enjoy playing the role. They had their picture taken A LOT.


These are some of the original pavement stones in the Siq. Many were washed away in some of the flash floods over the years.

These are the tourism police. They help keep things safe for visitors.

The first part of Petra is the Siq - a slot canyon. On the left, you can see what looks like a shelf. It's a water channel.

Someone's dog, hard at work - ignoring all the people!

This is the "Treasury". It was actually a tomb but the local Bedouins believed that it was a treasury so the name stuck. There is a vase at the top that they thought contained money. So they would shoot at it with their guns trying to break loose the treasure. People can no longer go inside. I guess that some visitors used it as a latrine. Not good.

I peaked inside of one of the burial caves. It was being used as a stable for this pony.

I got a kick out of this camel. He was very interested in my camera. He came within an inch or two of the lens. I was kind of worried about getting snot on it.

This groove in the wall of the canyon was made to hold a ceramic pipe (you can see the remains) that carried drinking water.

We got a camel ride for part of the way back up the canyon. You do a lot of lurching while riding the camel and you have to lean way forward or way back in the saddle when the camel gets up or down. We were tired so the ride felt good.

This was our camel jockey.

This is the interior of one of the home. The rock was very colorful. The outside wall of the home had fallen away over the years exposing the interior. No need for wallpaper here!