Jordan November 2023

We left the camp at 8.30. It was incredibly cold overnight and we needed jumpers and a coat to go to breakfast.  There were a couple of hot air balloons flying over.  It soon warmed up and became quite hot.  Wadi Rum is without doubt a beautiful desert region of Jordan, but like Petra it has been taken over by tourism.  There were tourist camps everywhere.  We first visited the Wadi Rum Railway which was built in the time of Lawrence of Arabia and during the Great Arab Uprising against the Ottamans in 1916.  Its main purpose was to transport weapons and soldiers.  We saw an old steam engine and carriages plus some other rolling stock and the old Wadi Rum station building.   The train does run a short distance for tourist trips. Rolling Stock Steam train Carriages Wadi Rum railway station Paul on the train                                        ...

We were awake very early this morning due to a power cut at 6.00.  It was very dark and I needed a torch to visit the toilet and woke Paul up.  He went off to find out if it was just our room but it was all the hotel.  Power was back by 6.30 but we were already wide awake so go up then. We left at 9.00 and our first stop was Little Petra.  It is much smaller than Petra but has some interesting rooms and caverns that have been carved into the sandstone rock.  It also has a small Siq. It also has a disproportionate amount of  souvenir sellers. It is believed to have been used for storing goods that  were traded by the Camel Caravams that came from other parts of the Arab world but mainly for storing wine as the temperatures in the caverns were constant and cool.        Landscape at Little Petra   The end of the Siq with onward passage to Petra (with all the souvenir sellers)   The office building where all incoming and outgo...

 After a very prolonged thunderstorm from about 10pm we eventually had a good nights sleep. We left the hotel at 9.00 for a full day at the ancient city of Petra, also known as the Rose City because of the colour of the buildings. It is 13 years since our first visit in 2010.  At that time mass tourism there had only really started 3 years earlier after Petra became officially known as a Wonder of the World.  A lot has changed since then.  A massive museum and visitor centre complex has been built near the start of the Siq, a 3km path leading down to the ancient town of Petra.  The Siq itself has been widened in places as electric buggies  now transport people up and down the 3km at a cost of 15 Jordanian Dinas (about £19 one way).  We walked down with the guide but were constantly being pestered by souvenir sellers.  When we eventually arrived at the main square and Treasury building we were greeted by lots more souvenir shops and lots of camels,...