Petra

The hotel at Petra was amazing. It was made of sandstone and designed to look like caves. The floors were heated -- and there was no thermostat. When we arrived, the wind was about 30 mph and the temperature was in the low 60s and even into the 50s. And yet the room was way too warm. We left our window open all night and the door for a while. They told us that our wakeup call would be at 7 a.m. Around 5 a.m., the imam beat them to it. The call to prayer sounded for at least 15 minutes, and then the men in the corridors were praying. It is an interesting experience, but so sad that the people are misled.

Saturday morning Jordanian time
We arrived at Petra. The temperature came up quickly, but it was not too uncomfortable. I've had the opportunity to talk with several of the Jordanian police officers assigned to the tourism police. They are very friendly and will answer all of our questions, even teaching me some Arabic phrases. They are hard enough to say, so I am not even going to try to write them. Their language is beautiful, and I could listen to them speaking all day long.

The trip down into Petra was amazing. The colors of the sandstone, the formations of the rocks, all of the caves carved into the rock, and finally the main part of Petra. It was unbelievable! The Nabateans carved channels and laid clay pipes for nine miles to bring water into the city from a spring. They also caught the rain water in cisterns. Many of the caves where the people lived were simply caves, but they prepared/carved elaborate decorations for their tombs since the afterlife was more important than life itself. I say carved, but the truth is, they basically scrubbed the sandstone to make the amazing designs.

Other than the overall experience, my favorite part of the trip into Petra was talking to some of the children. Of course, they were trying to sell me postcards. One dolla, one dolla. I must have heard it a million times. But they all wanted candy. One little boy came up to me while I was taking a picture, rubbed my belly and said, "Two babies." Then he asked me for candy. He came back three times for more. I finally bought some postcards from him, and gave him the rest of my candy. He promised me that he would share it. Riiiiiiight. He also said that he just wanted it for the plastic bag it was in. Riiiiiiight. Of course, I am the sucker, and I think they must have taken a picture of me in Jarash and sent it on ahead. "Hey, this guy will fall for anything," they said. Case in point: I bought an ice cream after the long, arduous, difficult climb back to the top -- by the way, I was the first one back to the top among the ones who walked -- and they charged me three dollars. One of the ladies got her for 1.50 and further down a kid was selling it for a dollar. SUCKER!

Second favorite part -- I rode a camel. I have pictures and video and I will get it posted as soon as I can. Wow, what a trip. Horses, donkeys, camels, goats. Simply a trip of a lifetime.

Almost forgot. One of the young ladies was trying to sell me a necklace for my wife or mistress -- honey, I don't have a mistress -- and I told her, "No." So she gave me a souvenir- a rock from Petra. Now, understand, there are millions of rocks from Petra, but it really is the thought that counts.