Jordan (well, really, Petra)

Flying out of Sri Lanka and into Jordan (with a quick plane change in Oman - although per family rule we can't claim we have been there because while we DID go to the bathroom there, we didn't leave the airport), we were all excited to be leaving Asia and into the Middle East (yes, I know it is Asia - but you know what we mean).  I hadn't been to that region since I went to Israel in 1989 with my Confirmation Class , and the rest of my family hadn't been there yet.  But the REAL reason for the complete excitement - we were meeting my parents at the hotel in Amman, Jordan later that day in order to spend 12 days in Jordan and Israel with them. The kids were so excited that we spoke of little else for weeks (really months) leading up to it. And the reunion was a joyous one for all, despite my parents arriving after about 30 hours of travel.

For those who wonder how two 70-year olds can keep up with an active family of 5 - you clearly have not met my parents. They don't spend a lot of time sitting - as Brian remembers from the first vacation with my family, "there are a lot of forced marches." I asked my dad to take control of the 12 days we had together - I have been doing so much planning that I wanted a bit of time off - and my dad was clearly up to the task.  With the exception of the day where we drove across the border into Israel, we were busy all day, every day with tour guides, museums, sites, you name it. While we were exhausted, we learned an incredible amount about both history and culture during our time in Jordan and Israel.

While we saw so much of Jordan in 3 quick days- from Mt. Nebo (where Moses died) to the ancient city of Jerash (you can read about it in Jacob's post here: http://senakids.blogspot.com/2014/02/jerash-by-jacob.html) the town of Korak and more, the highlight, of course, was our visit to Petra.  Luke writes about his thoughts on Petra here: http://senakids.blogspot.com/2014/02/petra-by-luke.html.

We have seen a number of places on this trip that words and pictures can't do justice to, such as Halong Bay and Sapa in Vietnam and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and Petra is right up there with those. It just has to be seen to really understand its sheer brilliance. Going with a guide was fabulous - we had a much deeper understanding of the site, the people, and the history. It would have still been an amazing day without Iyad, but since there was not a ton of signage, it was definitely made all the more incredible.

What makes Petra (and much of Jordan) amazing isn't just the sheer beauty of what we saw - it was the knowledge of the incredible amount of history that has happened on the very sites where we walked.  For a California girl who rarely sees things more than 100 years old (if that!), knowing that civilizations existed here thousands of years ago is mind-boggling, especially seeing all that they accomplished there.  The Rose City (as Petra is called because of the color of the rocks) was still home to Bedouins until recently when the Jordanian government moved them to a neighborhood nearby to facilitate tourist groups.

One of the things I love about places like Petra is that your jaw drops continuously. When we started down the path (you have to hike into Petra to see the good stuff), we were impressed immediately by the views, the rock faces, even the small caves we could see.

And it just kept getting better. First big stop: the Treasury. WOW.

In front of the Treasury

All seven of us! :) 

After the obligatory picture taking sessions (joy of going in January - not a lot of tourists - we could get pictures that weren't crowded with others), we kept heading down the path where we got to the "center" of Petra - full of shops, restaurants, camel rides, etc.

 Lots of Bedouins who earn their living selling the "authentic" Petra experience.

While most people turn around from there and head back, there was no way we were going to miss the greatest part of Petra - the Monastery. As with the Treasury, better than anticipated.

The Monastery from up high