Petra!

Well, I did it! I went to Petra. When I heard 3 1/2 hours in a car- each way, I was like NO. But then my boss was like "really? Really? All you've talked about is going to Petra when you go to Jordan!" So I took his advice and booked it. The moment I made the reservation I was giddy with excitement. I couldn't even sleep last night because I was so excited and afraid I was going to oversleep.
Up at 6am, in the car at ten to 7am. I used the travel service through the hotel and while it was a bit more, I got my own driver and car for the whole day and pretty much my own tour guide as we drove there.

Driving across the desert again for 3 1/2 hrs. It was like the Bahrain to Riyadh trip de Jevu (spelling). I saw all these small villages that kept popping up, and so I asked the driver- are these real villages? He said yes- and then knew the name of each. The one we were passing by at the moment had the best schools- 4. 2 for girls, 2 for boys. He then said they have everything else too- electricity, plumbing, grocery stores. But then I asked what they did for a living and he said they "lived". They grew their own food- vegetables and goats, and made their own clothes from the sheeps wool. It kinda shocked me. These villages were what i would equate to small US towns, quaint towns with one or no stoplights, small school counts-- only this is how it is in a developing country, and it looks like nothing you could even imagine.

As we got to the 1/2 way point, we stopped off at the usual tourist trap. Cheaply made overpriced souvenirs (no I didn't buy anyone's gift there :-), breakfast options, and bathrooms. But they had diet coke, so I can't say anything bad.

As we got closer to Petra the mountains arose from the desert, and we entered the Moussa Valley or Moses Valley (pictures above). It was really cool winding down the mountains in the city. We got to this one point and I asked to stop the car so I could get out and get a picture. It was amazing- looking out over the city and the mountains that encompass Petra. (picture) It took my breath away.

As we had left so early we were ahead of the tour busses and locals. It was also Friday so that is the religious day here so no Muslims would be out till after noon. I got my ticket- 50Jd ($75) and went in while my driver went off to see some friends and do his prayers. We agreed to meet back at the meeting point in three hours.