Rose City of Petra, Jordan

Treasury at Petra at Night

Sig - Entrance to Petra, Jordan

Enterprising Bedouin Girl
- Petra, Jordan

Pat at Amphitheatre - Petra, Jordan

Urn Tomb - Petra, Jordan

Wayne Riding Donkey 
to the Monastery - Petra, Jordan

Wind Blown Ancient Tombs - Petra, Jordan

Pat in 2000-year 
Old Nabataean Cave

Rose City of Petra, Jordan (5/13-14/2010)

AMAZING PETRA! - chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and an UNESCO World Heritage Site!  

Petra was on our travel wish list for a long time. It was a thrill to walk the over mile into Petra and stand in front of the famous Treasury (see photo). The natural wonder of the area is astounding (see photos).

Our first views of Petra was a stunning candlelit night walk to the Treasury called Petra by Night (see photo). Thousands of candles lit the way along the Sig for a very unique experience. 

We followed up the next day with a 10-mile hike throughout Petra visiting the Colonnaded Street, Amphitheatre, Royal Tombs, Outer Siq, Theatre, East Cliff, Petra Church, and rode donkeys up the 800 steps to the incredible Monastery (see photo). 

We also visited Little Petra down the road where the camel caravans actually came through.

Al Khazneh (Treasury) 
- Petra, Jordan

Petra, meaning rock, dates back to 1200 BC and is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourism attraction. The impressive entrance, called the Siq (see photo), leads for over a mile down through a sometimes narrow gorge (in places only about 10 feet wide). It is a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serves as a waterway. 

At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most dramatic view, the Al Khazneh (popularly known as "Treasury"), carved into the sandstone cliff and featured in the 1989 film classic Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Al Khazneh dates back to 56 BC and may have actually been used as either a temple or a tomb.

Little Petra, Jordan

Some information about why Petra is so special... Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a natural stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, it controlled the main commercial routes throughout the whole region. 

Bedouins in Jordan

Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ingenious ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply, creating an artificial oasis, that led to the rise of the desert city. The area experiences flash floods and the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams, cisterns, and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought and enabled Petra to prosper in the vast surrounding desert.

Map of Nabataean Kingdom

Some history... Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, Petra reached its zenith 2,000 years ago in the first centuries BC and AD. This once great city grew wealthy enough on the caravan trade to challenge the might of Rome. Petra’s decline started under Roman rule, in large part due to Rome’s revision of land routes away from too powerful Petra as well as the establishment of sea-based trade routes.

Al Khazneh (Treasury) 
- Petra, Jordan

In 363 an earthquake destroyed many buildings and crippled the vital water management system. Petra remained unknown for centuries, except for local Bedouin inhabitants, to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced to the world by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

Wayne in Bedouin Camp - Jordan

See our other post about Jordon:

Staying in a Bedouin Camp in Wadi Rum

 

 

 

 

 

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Red Sea Resort of Dahab, Egypt

Downtown Dahab, Egypt

Bedouin Women & Children - Egypt

Seaside Restaurants at Night - Dahab, Egypt

Wayne Smoking Sheesh - Dahab, Egypt

Wayne Snorkling Off Our Resort - Dahab, Egypt

Camels Passing Our Resort - Dahab, Egypt

Pool at Our Resort - Dahab, Egypt

Chilling at Restaurant 
Above Blue Hole - Dahab, Egypt

Jeep Trip to Blue Hole
with Dave & Anna - Dahab, Egypt

Red Sea Resort of Dahab, Egypt (5/8-12/2010) - Welcome to Dahab… Egypt’s wonderful laid-back Red Sea resort (see photos). 

After over a week of amazing (and exhausting) ancient Egyptian touring, the 3 days we spent in Dahab was a greatly appreciated Bedouin seaside oasis of relaxation and fun.

Dahab is a small Red Sea town situated on the southeast coast of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Formerly a Bedouin fishing village, located about 50 miles northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab is considered to be one of the Sinai's most treasured Scuba diving and snorkeling destinations with many reefs immediately adjacent to waterfront hotels. Dahab is also world-renowned for its windsurfing.

We took a very fun jeep trip to the nearby Blue Hole, an internationally famous dive spot (see photos). At the Bells site next to the Blue Hole, the snorkeling was amazing! We also enjoyed lazing around at the seafood restaurant above the Blue Hole smoking sheesh (favored water pipe).

Interesting facts... The word "Dahab" is Arabic for "gold" - possibly a reference to the geographic locality. Gold washed down from the desert mountains may have accumulated on the alluvial flood plain where the town was built. The Dahab name may also be a reference to the color of the sands around the town itself. 

Some history... See the blog post of Sharm el-Sheikh for more history of Dahab and Egypt. 

Although Bedouin-style tent sites have made Dahab a popular low cost place to stay and dive, we stayed at a new 5-star resort with a huge pool and great snorkeling along its shore (see photos). 

Before reaching Petra we stayed a night in Aqaba, Jordan, also known for its Red Sea snorkeling and diving.

For more about amazing Egypt and the Temples and treasures along the Nile River, please see our 6 other blog posts:

Egypt - Cairo (Capital)

Egypt - Abu Simbel, Aswan High Dam, Temple of Philae

Egypt - Great Pyramids, Sphinx, Giza

Egypt - Luxor Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu

Egypt - Nile River Felucca Boat Trip

Egypt - Valleys of the Kings & Queens, Kamak Temple

and Egypt’s other beautiful Red Sea resort:

Egypt - Sharm el Shiekh Red Sea

 

 

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Travel for half the cost for all levels of travel from budget to luxury and 100's of other unique travel tips! From a former Economic professor, experienced traveler (106 countries), award-winning travel photojournalist/blogger, featured speaker at large travel shows, host of the travel TV show Plan Your Escape® TV aired on the CW network, and travel columnist for the Huffington Post, our popular 5-star customer rated groundbreaking and comprehensive how-to world travel book Plan Your Escape, Secrets of Traveling the World for Less Than the Cost of Living at Home reveals secrets how you can travel and see more for half the cost for all trips from weekend getaways and longer vacations and trips, experience more adventure and romance, safely realize your travel dreams with comprehensive planning tools and checklists, travel the world for less than $100/day for a couple, and much more!
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Valley of the Kings & Queens and Karnak Temple, Egypt

Egyptian Muslim Woman 
at Karnak Temple - Egypt

Bentanat (Ramses II Wife & Daughter)
- Karnak Temple

Deire Madina (Workers' Valley)
from Hot Air Balloon - Egypt

Sunrise from Hot Air Balloon 
Over Ancient Egyptian Sites

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut - Egypt

Valley of the Kings & Valley of the Queens and Karnak Temple, Egypt (5/7/2010) - This is one of the amazing places of world history. Karnak Temple is a must see!

We started our day at 3:30 am for a fun exciting hot air balloon ride over the entire Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens while watching the sunrise (see photos) – a unique experience!

Relief at Temple 
of Queen of Hatshepsut - Egypt

The Valley of the Kings (World Heritage Site) where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, 63 elaborate royal tombs and chambers were constructed for the kings and powerful nobles ranging in size from a simple pit to a complex tomb with over 120 chambers. 

All of the tombs (except the tomb of Tutankhamen) seem to have been opened and robbed in antiquity, but they still give an idea of the opulence and power of the rulers of this time. Not able to take photos in the Valley of the Kings, we visited several tombs such as Ramses IX. 

The tombs were constructed and decorated by the workers of the village of Deir el-Medina (Worker’s Valley – see photo), located between the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. 

In Deir al-Bahr, the Temple of Hatshepsut (see photos) has been restored since 1891 and shows the magnificence of these ancient Egyptian temples. This place gains special attention because Hatshepsut was one of a very few queens of ancient Egypt. She successfully ruled Egypt about 3,500 years ago and re-established trading relationships lost during a foreign occupation and brought great wealth to Egypt. 

We also visited the separate Valley of the Queens, that Ramses I (1301BC) commenced construction, viewing a couple of tombs of Ramses’ children (he had 63 of them!).  

One of our favorite experiences of our trip to Egypt was the Karnak Temple (see photo). Everything is on a gigantic scale (well over a square mile). Karnak Temple is a vast conglomeration of ruined temples, chapels, pylons and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amen (the largest religious building ever built). Located near Luxor, Karnak Temple is part of the ancient city of Thebes, which was the religious and cultural capital of ancient Egypt for centuries. 

Hypostyle Hall 
in Karnak Temple - Egypt

Karnak Temple was the most important place of worship in Egypt during the New Kingdom. Starting as early as the 20th century BC, over a 1,500-year period about thirty pharaohs contributed to Karnak Temple's  building, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere. 

Few of the individual features of Karnak Temple are unique, but the size and number of features are overwhelming. We were impressed with the Hypostyle Hall - an area of 50,000 sq. ft. with 134 massive columns (see photos). 

Map of Egypt

A quick stop at the 3,400-year old Colossi of Memnon was interesting because these two statues are all that are left of a temple that may have been larger than Karnak Temple but unfortunately was built in a flood plain of the Nile River and has disappeared over the centuries.

For more about amazing Egypt and the Temples and treasures along the Nile River, please see our 5 other blog posts:

Egypt - Cairo (Capital)

Egypt - Abu Simbel, Aswan High Dam, & Temple of Philae

Egypt - Great Pyramids, Sphinx, & Giza

Egypt - Luxor Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu

Egypt - Nile River Felucca Boat Trip

and Egypt’s beautiful Red Sea resorts:

Egypt - Dahab Red Sea

Egypt - Sharm el Shiekh Red Sea

 

Please enjoy 250+ wonderful places around the world, with award-winning photos, from our BLOG ARCHIVE on the right ----> 

Travel for half the cost for all levels of travel from budget to luxury and 100's of other unique travel tips! From a former Economic professor, experienced traveler (100 countries), award-winning travel photojournalist/blogger, featured speaker at large travel shows, host of the travel TV show Plan Your Escape® TV aired on the CW network, and travel columnist for the Huffington Post, and experienced travelers (106 countries), our popular 5-star customer rated groundbreaking and comprehensive how-to world travel book Plan Your Escape, Secrets of Traveling the World for Less Than the Cost of Living at Home reveals secrets how you can travel and see more for half the cost for all trips from weekend getaways to longer vacations and trips, experience more adventure and romance, safely realize your travel dreams with comprehensive planning tools & checklists, travel the world for less than $100/day for a couple, and much more!
Buy this popular book on Amazon.com (also available as Ebook for $9.99), CLICK HERE

Luxor and Temples of Kom Ombo & Edfu, Egypt

Kom Ombo Temple - Egypt

Avenue of Sphinx - Luxor Temple, Egypt

Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt

Luxor Temple at Night 
- Luxor, Egypt

Luxor Temple - Luxor, Egypt

Nefertiti - Luxor Temple, Egypt

Kom Ombo Temple - Egypt

Kom Ombo Temple - Egypt

Luxor and Temples of Kom Ombo & Edfu, Egypt (5/6/2010) - Luxor Temple was a highlight of our trip up the Nile River.

The city of Luxor is the largest city in Upper Egypt near the site of the ancient city of Thebes, which was the religious and cultural capital of ancient Egypt for centuries. Hence, the large number of significant temples in this area including the Valleys of the Kings & Queens and the astonishing Karnak Temple featured in another blog post. 

Founded in 1400 BC and added to for centuries, even up to Roman times, the Luxor Temple (see photos) is a large ancient Egyptian temple complex located in the heart of the city of Luxor on the Nile River. We had the chance to see Luxor Temple lit up at night - beautiful! An amazing Avenue of Sphinxes (see photo) once extended all the way to Karnak Temple some 2 miles downriver.

Map of Egypt

Erected in the 2^nd century BC, Kom Ombo Temple (see photo) is actually dual temples - we think to get double the contributions. One temple was dedicated to the bad crocodile god Sobek. There exists a secret tunnel that allowed priests to give the ‘voice’ of god to people visiting the temple. Huh – double contributions and being god... the priests at Kom Ombo Temple seemed to have quite a racket going on back then.

The Temple of Horus in Edfu (see photo) was built between 237 BC and 57 BC, into the reign of Cleopatra VII. Of all the temple remains left in Egypt, the Temple of Horus (looks like a falcon bird) at Edfu is the most completely preserved because it was the last large temple constructed and it was located well above the Nile River escaping water damage.

For more about amazing Egypt and the Temples and treasures along the Nile River, please see our 5 other blog posts:

Egypt - Cairo (Capital)

Egypt - Abu Simbel, Aswan High Dam, Temple of Philae 

Egypt - Great Pyramids, Sphinx, Giza

Egypt - Nile River Felucca Boat Trip

Egypt - Valleys of the Kings & Queens, Kamak Temple

and Egypt’s beautiful Red Sea resorts:

Egypt - Dahab Red Sea

Egypt - Sharm el Shiekh Red Sea

 

 

Please enjoy 250+ wonderful places around the world, with award-winning photos, from our BLOG ARCHIVE on the right ----> 

Travel for half the cost for all levels of travel from budget to luxury and 100's of other unique travel tips! From a former Economic professor, experienced traveler (106 countries), award-winning travel photojournalist/blogger, featured speaker at large travel shows, host of the travel TV show Plan Your Escape® TV aired on the CW network, and travel columnist for the Huffington Post, our popular 5-star customer rated groundbreaking and comprehensive how-to world travel book Plan Your Escape, Secrets of Traveling the World for Less Than the Cost of Living at Home reveals secrets how you can travel and see more for half the cost for all trips from weekends getaways to longer vacations and trips, experience more adventure and romance, safely realize your travel dreams with comprehensive tools and checklists, travel the world for less than $100/day for a couple, and much more!
Buy this popular book on Amazon.com (also available as Ebook for $9.99), CLICK HERE