The tour begins when you are picked up from your Eilat hotel and swiftly taken across the border into Jordan and onto the Desert Highway. While on the scenic route through the desert landscape you can see the morning sun casting a slow moving shadow across the Jebel Mountains. The landscape slowly changes as we get closer to Wadi Rum, the valley cut out of granite and sandstone.
We arrive at the UNESCO World Heritage city of Petra and your knowledgeable tour guide will fill you in on the fascinating history of Petra. Petra was the capital of the Nabataean civilization, the city was established in 312BC and it played a pivotal role in the trade route between Egypt and the East.
The Siq is a 1.2km long, narrow entrance to the city flanked on both sides by high red rock “walls.” You can choose to walk or go on horseback along the first 200 meters of the Siq gorge.
As you approach the end of the Siq, the majestic Treasury towers before you. The Treasury is one of the beautiful buildings carved out of the red stone cliffs along the city’s central Colonnade Street.
We take our time exploring the ancient city and marveling at the incredible craftsmanship of the architects who created Petra out of stone. Temples, houses, tombs and altars are carved out of the red sandstone cliffs of Petra.
The complex city once bustled with 20,000 Nabataean residents and traders, and luckily the regional climate and the remoteness of the location safeguarded the lost city of Petra until it was rediscovered.
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