DAY 12 – THURSDAY, MARCH 28: PETRA, WADI RUM
Today was a day filled with the wonder and beauty of God’s creation! The temps were perfect, with highs in the 60s and full sun all day.
Petra
We arrive this morning at the entrance of Petra shortly after 7 a.m. We spent about 6.5 hours within this red-rose ancient city deemed one of the 7 Wonders of the World. Located in the heart of the Seir Mountains, Land of Edomites, Petra is a site of incredible sandstone color. We entered the site through the Siq, the main entrance to Petra, that brought us to the first monument “The Treasury” (“Al-Khazneh”). This well-preserved monumental tomb appeared in the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” It was the tomboy the Nabatean King named Aretas (see 2 Cor. 12. His daughter or granddaughter – depending on dating – was the former wife of Herod Antipas, Matthew 14).
“What unique places these two sites were – Petra and Wadi Rum! It was a day filled with awe for the beauty of God’s creation. I took more pictures today than any day prior to this! It was a great day!” -Tour Participant-
A walk further down through the site. Besides passing by many of the Nabatean tombs, we walked by a 3,000-seat theater carved into the sandstone, one of the largest theaters in Jordan. From here, some walked to the Monastery Tomb at the fear west side of Petra, while others explored on their own (e.g. the Royal Tombs). Some even also hiked to the High Place far above the site. We all walked back to the visitor center.
Wadi Rum
After loading our buses, we drove about 2 hours south to Wadi Rum. Here we enjoyed an amazing jeep ride in the desert. It was really fun. We stopped at a few places to take in the beauty of this desert. Following watching the sunset, we jeeped right to our place for the night in the desert, Captain’s, a Bedouin Village. We enjoy dinner together (cooked underground!) and a brief campfire under the brilliant stars. We all retired to our individual tents for the night!
DAY 13 – FRIDAY, MARCH 29: SOUTHERN BORDER CROSSING INTO ISRAEL, RED SEA, TIMNAH, TEL AVIV, NIGHT FLIGHT HOME
