Greetings from a place considered (unofficially) to be one of the new seven wonders of the world. We have arrived in Wadi Musa, (Moses’s Valley), 
the gateway to Petra, the ancient city of the Nabataeans, built in the 3 BC. I knew that Petra was a special place but when I walked through the high walls of the sandstone siq (canyon) that heralds visitor to this historic place, I was stunned and blown away!
The Nabataeans were the Arabs who controlled the 
trade routes between Damascus and Arabia and established this ancient city. Petra is vast and includes temples, tombs, a treasury, a monastery, places of sacrifice, palaces, and everything else one would expect to find in a city at the crossroads of trade routes. These structures are carved into the sandstone rock and are found in various states of weathering depending on whether it was sheltered from the elements or left exposed. The detail that has gone into the carving is amazing and the extent of this city hard to fathom.
We arrive here for an early lunch and start exploring together with Kamal, our local guide who is extremely knowledgeable and gives us a great insight in to what life must have been like all those years ago.
As we walk, I have yet another surprise. We bump in to my friend from work, Marzi & his wife, who I ran into previously at the Egyptian Museum. Once was pretty amazing but twice? We catch up once more and this time as we both have our cameras with us take pictures for the record!
It would take a few days of walking if not weeks to 
explore this place properly but we have time to take in some of the highlights. This includes the treasury, which may have also served as a tomb. It is a beautiful ornate structure and we take a break to sip some mint tea, relax and learn about its history.
Along the way there are interesting souvenir shops and tea shops that tend to entice the traveller to stop and take a break. 
Once again, I strike it lucky and meet Marguerite van Geldermalsen, the author of ‘Married to a Bedouin’, the book I had been discussing with the sheik the night before. She is looking after her stall today (quite a rare occurrence apparently) and I am thrilled to have the chance to meet her and chat.
She was a back-packer from New Zealand looking for adventure and travelling through Jordan, when she took up the offer of a Bedouin man to stay the night in his cave. This led to her eventual marriage to him and resulted in her living in a two-thousand year old cave carved into the hillside, after giving up her life Down Under. Imagine my surprise to learn that she now spends part of her time in a Northern Sydney suburb very close to home. I’ve bought her book and can’t wait to read her story…
My attention is next caught by a couple of very attractive (or should I say pretty) local boys. I walk over and ask if I can take their photos. The Jordanian men here use heavy eye makeup and seem to be very conscious of their looks. I ask about the special brand of mascara and get a lesson in the local product – kohl, which is very resistant to heat and is reputed to stay on for at least a week!
The woman are equally beautiful but less chatty and would much rather you purchased their wares than discussed their beauty products!
We continue walking and arrive at the Street of Facades and marvel at the Royal Tombs.
The road is now paved with cobblestones that date back to Roman times. Our tour ends at the halfway point of the site but Yvonne, Victor, Emily and I decide to make the hike up to the Monastery, at the very end of this site. A rock cut stairway leads up to this magical place but it is a tiring climb of about an hour to get there. It was built as a tomb but most probably used as a church as well. 
We stop at the tea shop across from the monument for mint lemon drinks and a kit kats and gaze at the monument while we chat to the locals. We learn that the best view in Petra is just another 15 minute hike away. We are quite exhausted from the hike up here but decide to make it to the cliff top viewpoint. We are rewarded by an amazing panoramic view of the surrounding cities and our glad we came the extra mile.
We are once again invited to join a group of travellers for tea but the sun is setting and it is time to head back down. It has been an exhausting day but we need to hurry back as we are planning to out tonight for traditional Bedouin food,. The sandstone looks brilliant as the sunsets on this ancient city and we take our final photos and say goodbye.
“True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island..to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.”
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