Day 13: Wednesday 24 April. Petra & Wadi Rum (Valley of Pegs or Valley of the Moon)...... Carvings in rocks of Lawrence of Arabia

The Bedouin Wadi Rum Jeep Tour

Petra - The Transportation

The Canyon into the "City" and the Treasury

Lots of buildings to investigate and lots of activity

The canyon entrance and the guards of the Treasury

Day 12 .. Jordan / Crusader Castle / Mosaic factory

Jabbok river & Mt. Nebo

Jerash and call to worship ... ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Day 13: Wednesday 24 April. Petra & Wadi Rum (Valley of Pegs or Valley of the Moon) We had an early morning start and drove the short distance to Petra Visitors Centre where we hired a "chariot" to take Phyl and I to the see all the sites including the Treasury, the carved temples and dwellings. Our driver did drive slower when I asked but it was rough going over the Roman cobble streets. We laughed and screamed at the bumps both ways. The hawkers were continuous and some were more polite than others. Then we drove into town to have lunch and went on to a Bedouin community for more shopping and a jeep ride around the countryside called Wadi Rum. This area is renowned apparently for its extreme sports, but we just did mild jeep rides! The community definitely tried to show us a good time and the sun was quite strong and I opted to stay inside the jeep and not sit in the back where the tourists usually sit! We were shown portraits of Lawrence of Arabia carved into the rock, also it was explained how certain rocks could be used for makeup and certain plants for washing hands. Then we drove to the border to cross back into Israel for our final day. A good but long day, we slept well that night................................................................. Day 12 Tuesday 23 April Jerash, Madaba, Mt Nebo Jordan: Last night we met our Jordanian guide and a driver at the border when we crossed over from Israel and they are both lovely personable people. I realised when we checked into the hotel in Amman I had accidentally left my walking stick in the toilet at the border so I felt quite silly as the main reason I had brought it was for the Petra walk through the canyon. Our room looked luxurious but as we were viewing the sunset we discovered water in the carpet at the outside wall and there was also mold up the wall under the curtains! We decided to ignore it and go to sleep. We realised when chatting to the hotel staff and our tour leader we should have been relocated to another room. Well we will know for next time. We left early ready for our Jordan adventure. Our first stop was Jerash and Hadrian’s Gate a huge Roman excavation site. Unfortunately, during the bus trip north from Amman Phyl had gradually become quite unwell and both the guide and the bus driver showed great care and tenderness. We stopped along the way at Jabbok River the river where Jacob crossed when he went back to Esau. Our tour leader heard some good news too that the rest of our group scheduled to leave Israel last night did managed to leave. The strike and lockdown at the airport was overturned, what a relief for them all. The guide organised us (Phyl and I) to sit in a café/tourist spot until they returned from the walking tour. The staff gave Phyl firstly a herbal drink and after an hour a yoghurt and garlic dish to settle the stomach. I just drank water and chatted to Phyl. The culture in Jordan is quite different from Israel and we didn't see the same amount of tourists. There were lots of school groups walking around the huge area very eager to see the ruins. We passed very lush land as well as very arid. We saw more tent dwellings, including gypsies, than in Israel. We then drove up to Mount Nebo, where Moses had viewed the Promised Land before he died. We saw a Byzantine church (it was built in honour of Moses) being restored and were shown the beautiful mosaics which had been uncovered. After lunch we visited a Mosaic factory / workshop at which handicapped people are employed and they undertake exquisite work. Then we had a long drive down to Petra. Our hotel was plush and was actually a village converted to accommodation - amazing. We all checked in and had dinner, but Phyl went to the army hospital to be checked over and received treatment, a drip for rehydration and antibiotics and came back to sleep. The driver and the guide escorted Phyl and she was relieved to feel a bit better and to come back to our room to sleep