A stop on an ancient trade route......Petra

 When I was young, I always wanted to be an archaeologist..One of my childhood memories involves Camels, spices, and constantinople. It seemed so exotic, and so far away from the world I lived in...         ( thank you encylopedia Britannica, for carrying me away so so many amazing places)  Anywaaaay.....I haven't made it to constantinople yet, but I did get a chance to visit Petra.....over 2000 yrs old, and built on the spice routes from the Gulf of Aqaba , to Turkey....

The views from the mountains were amazing! It was very hot that day, and I was dressed conservatively, as not to offend.....

A bedouin camp. We saw many of these on the way to petra, it is always good to see that people still respect and live in the old ways. 

When we arrived in Petra, we started our journey on horseback! I had to take a deep breath, as it had been many years since I had even been near a horse, not to mention actually getting on one...but since I had just ridden a camel a few days earlier.....I didn't give it a second thought, and hopped right on!

We had to walk partway thru the most awesome rock formations!

and all the way we saw areas where they had water conduits, niches with carvings, and the high walls that reached to the sky!

Suddenly, the narrow rock passageway opened into a large area, and we gasped, as we got our first look at the Treasury...carved out by hand into the beautiful rose colored rock. 

The camels were awaiting riders, to take them along the roadway to glimpse the tombs, homes, and shops of the ancient people. We elected to walk the dusty trails, and take our time to look and try to visualize how it must have looked 2000 years ago!

note the carvings on the side of the treasury....

As I wandered around, I caught a glimpse of of a young couple dressed in traditional garb.....they were so beautiful, that I couldn't help but take a picture....

but not so traditional, that they have a modern convenience....I wondered if the cell phone had a signal so deep in the desert! 

The Tomb of the Kings and lesser dignitaries of the time.... if it looks familiar to you, it was featured in a Indiana Jone movie!

One of the homes that must have belongs to a an

affluent Merchant, or a lesser royal perhaps.....

It was a wonderful day, and I would have loved to linger, and use my imagination to to create stories....but alas, the ship awaits, and I must return.....for our next great adventure!