2011 - Oasis Overland (Part 7 - Petra)

A day wandering wandering around one of the world's premier archaeological sites.

Tuesday 22 March 2011 - Tuesday 22 March 2011
View 2011 tiki tour on nzhamsta's travel map.

This is also one of the world's most expensive sites at 50 Jordanian dinars (€49, $NZ90) entrance fee.

Tuesday 22 March - We had a very early start in order to get into Petra before the hoards of tour buses descended on the place and to that effect we were outside the ticket office at 7:00am. Yep, that early. But it paid off big time. Apart from one Japanese tourist with a big camera and tripod, we were the only people outside the Treasury building (as made famous by Indiana Jones). The stall holders were not even awake at that time.

The site is huge and you can spend days wandering around the temples, mountain paths, tombs and other secluded places. We walked for miles around the place, including the strenuous hike up the mountain the Monastery. You get superb views over the whole area once you finally make it.

The entrance to the Siq.

The Siq.

The first glimpse of the Treasury from the Siq.

The Treasury.

An arty picture of the Treasury.

The Street of Facades.

Tombs, temples etc.

More rock cut temples in the Street of Facades.

The Royal Tombs.

A stall selling wierd items.

The Royal Tombs.

An arty picture from Jebel Umm al' Amr.

The Great Temple, looking towards the Royal Tombs.

The pathway to the Monastery.

The Monastery.

The main form of transport up and down the mountains.

The reason why we arrived early. By the time we left Petra just after lunch, the place was heaving with tour groups. There was no way you could get decent photos of the Treasury or any of the main sites due to the numbers.
.