I am now in the south of Jordan at the famed Petra. It has been a homecoming of sorts because my sister Nicole joined me for this short sojourn, flying in from Bahrain to play in her “backyard”. It has been handy to travel with someone who speaks Arabic, although probably more memorable to watch the local Bedouins’ faces when they see this pale, white woman with blonde hair jabber away in their own tongue…
Petra is simply indescribable – it is one of the seven wonders of the world.. and everyone who walks down the narrow canyon of towering red rock that opens out to the magnificent rose carved sandstone facade of the Treasury building is simply awestruck by the experience. The canyons and valleys of the area are of incredible natural beauty – vivid rainbow colours in the sandstone that glow different colours with the hour of the day. It is almost surreal then, that an entire city of staggering scale was hewn from these cliff faces -surely one of the greatest feats by the hands of men.
Of course places of grandeur are invariably in high places, and for the last few days I have dragged my sister up every view point, hill, peak and stairs to explore Petra’s temples, tombs and churches.
And so I now head further south to the deserts of Wadi Rum where the legend of Lawrence of Arabia still lingers…