Day 7 – Friday, February 21: Petra, Wadi Rum, Captain’s Bedouin Village
Following a good (and longer) night’s sleep here in Wadi Musa (Petra) and a great breakfast, we walked to the site of ancient Petra at 7:30 a.m. It was a remarkable day here in this red-rose city of the Nabateans. The morning weather was very cool (40s) but with warming temps (around 50) and partly sunny skies in the afternoon. We prayed and sang our Oh, the Sun’s Coming Up song as we walked to the entrance of the site.
Petra
Petra, this ancient Nabatean city was built within the Seir Mountains, the land of the Edomites (Deuteronomy 2, 33; Ezekiel 35) is one of there seven Wonders of the World. Because of the brand new Jordan government restrictions of the local Bedouin being able to sell things inside Petra (they literally bulldozed and dismantled the shops, combined with the very low tourism currently now, we essentially had the entire site to ourselves!
We all thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular scenery and tombs/ruins of this red-rose ancient city. Once we entered the site, we all walked through the Siq (canyon) which 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 tomb of the Nabatean King named Aretas III (Paul mentions his son, Aretas IV in 2 Cor. 11:32). His daughter (or granddaughter – depending on dating) was the former wife of Herod Antipas, see Matthew 14).
From the Treasury we now began our walk into the city. 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, many in the group walked to the Monastery Tomb at the far west side of Petra, while others explored on their own (e.g. the Royal Tombs). The Aravah and Negev of Israel could be seen to the west from the area of the Monastery. Seven in the group also hiked to the High Place (using the back trail) far above the site. We all made it back by 2:15 p.m. where we began our drive south to Wadi Rum.
“It was another spectacular day here in Jordan. Petra and Wadi Rum are incredible places where the beauty of God’s creation shines bright. We all did a lot of hiking at Petra, the Nabatean capital in days of antiquity.”
Wadi Rum
Driving on portions of the King’s Highway and then again accessing the Desert Highway lead us down to Wadi Rum in southern Jordan. Upon arriving in this area made famous by Sir Lawrence of Arabia during WWI (this British officer helped the Bedouin fight against the Turks), five jeeps (e.g. pickup trucks) were awaiting us to take us through the desert. It was a lot of fun driving through the sand. The views were amazing as well. We stopped by a Bedouin tent for tea and coffee. We made it to a rocky hill where we enjoyed a wonderful sunset. The jeeps then took us to Captain’s, our “Bedouin-style camp” for the night. Following a unique dinner (prepared underground), we enjoyed a free evening back in our bungalows.
Day 8 – Saturday, February 22: Southern Border Crossing into Israel, Red Sea, Timnah, Dead Sea
