Petra - The Siq

The Nabateans, who were an nomadic tribe and organised traders used their wealth and skills to build the city of Petra in the 6th century BC.  Later on, the Romans arrived and assumed control over Petra adding some Roman features such a colonnaded street and baths.  In 363 and 551, earthquakes destroyed much of the city and Petra became a forgotten place, only known to local bedouin tribes who preferred to keep it a secret.  Until 1812 when a Swiss explorer, Jean Louis Burckhardt, ended Petra's isolation.  He disguised himself as a local Muslim holy man and discovered the lost and ancient city of Petra.  Since then, it has become a focus of Western European obsession and has seen numerous archaeologists, travellers, poets and artists.

We completely underestimated the size of this place.  It is HUGE!  When you think of Petra, the first image is of the Treasury, the famous structure built into the wall that was the scene of Indiana Jones and his dad riding on horses in search of the Holy Grail! However, that is not the only gem to see in this city.  You could walk for days and only see half of the place.

I have so many pictures of Petra and they are all so beautiful that is very hard to chose which ones to share on the blog.

I'll start with the Siq.  An ancient corridor that snakes its way toward to the Treasury.  It is a geological master piece.  The Siq resembles a canyon, but is has been formed by tectonic forces that has ripped the rock.  

Wadi Musa

Wadi Musa is home to the incredible ancient city of Petra.  It is not the nicest of places.  It just seems to be a stop off place before the actual real gem.  Wadi Musa is hotel land with hotels ranging from budget to 5 star, Movenpick style hotels.  We chose wisely and stayed at an inexpensive, but good hotel, The Amra Palace Hotel.  I would stay here again.  It has a pool, jacuzzi and Turkish Baths.  It also has a decent buffet breakfast and dinner.  The breakfast is included in the price of the room which is always nice. 

Jordanians are very proud of their country and you always see the Jordanian flag flying high everywhere!

Robert's Famous French Toast

Anyone who has ever stayed with us in the past will have been treated to a top notch brunch!  French toast with bacon and proper Canadian maple syrup.  Robert started to get into making his French toast when we lived in New Zealand.  Our good friends, Kim, Andy and Harry (Harry especially)  agree that this is the best French toast ever and that Robert and I should think about starting up our own coffee shop serving this and other healthy treats :-)

And yes, you can get bacon here!  Amazing :-)  We are thrilled!

Thank you to Dad LeBlanc for getting us the maple syrup.  It would not be the same without it.  We treasure this stuff and we think of you every time we have it!!!!  We treasure you, too :-)

Happy people!

Haret Jdoudna

As it was Eid, we were worried that all the restaurants would be fully booked.  We hadn't made any reservations for lunch, but luckily, the Haret Jdoudna were able to accommodate us.  Thankfully, because this is a top restaurant and very popular amongst locals and tourists.  Based in Madaba and only 30 minutes outside of Amman.  It really is a must when you visit Jordan. The food is exceptional!  Spencer and Amani who live in the UAE said it was the best Arab food they have had ever.  They were both incredibly impressed and even more impressed that you could enjoy a glass of wine with your meal, something that is really unheard of in the UAE unless you are at a swanky, fancy hotel and pay a fortune for!

   

Nakanik's - yummy!!!

This was Spencer and Amani's first taste of Jordan and so far they were impressed :-)  This may have to be a regular trip for us for when people come to stay.  Airport, first stop, Madaba for some good food :-) and of course, interesting, ancient mosaics.

First visitors.

Our good friend, Spencer, who lives in Dubai, came to visit us during our 10 day Eid break.  It was really great to see him and spend time with him.  He is a good friend and always makes the effort to come and see us which we are always so grateful for.

After picking these lovelies up from the airport, we stopped off in Madaba for some tourism and for lunch.  Madaba is an ancient city and is home to one of the world's oldest mosaic maps of the Holy Land.  It is housed in a Byzantine church, St George's Church and is said to have been made in the 6th century AD.

The mosaic map of Madaba is the oldest known geographic floor mosaic in art history.

Best cakes ever!

Robert and I (Robert mostly) are so impressed by the food here in Amman, but one food stands out amongst all others - the cakes!  Oh, my, goodness, do they ever taste good!  We live a five minute walk to the best cake shop in Amman called, Rawan Cake.  It is hard not to buy something in here, plus it is incredibly cheap.  Robert says I never have to bake again.  I am glad because baking isn't one of my strengths.

Now, working in an elementary school with a load of other women, there is obviously a lot cake going around - but seriously, I feel like we have cake everyday!  I need to stop going into the staff room when it's someone's birthday because there is bound to be cake, and not just any old cake, but good, Rawan Cake!  It is delicious!!!  I'll do my best to take pictures of these cakes because I know you will get hungry just looking at them.

Wadi Rum

Camping in the desert is a lot of fun!  We went to the Wadi Rum last weekend with a bunch of people from our school.  It took four hours to drive there. We arrived at midday and spent the afternoon playing in the sand.  In the evening, our guide, Meziah and his family cooked up a feast for all of us.  There were about 30 in total.  The meal was cooked in a similar way to hangi, cooked in the ground.  It was great to see.  Then, the campfire got roaring and we started to sing.  Thankfully, someone brought a guitar. We also listened to Meziah's son play the Oud, an arabic guitar.  After lots of singing, we watched the moon rise and the stars twinkle. Night time was magical - it was so peaceful!

A little piece of history and modern film information  - Lawrence of Arabia spent some time here during the Arab Revolt of 1917-18.  The movie was filmed here.  Also, Transformers:  The Revenge of the Fallen was also filmed here.  I just had to look that one up.  As we were driving around the Wadi Rum, I was saying how much it reminded me of the movie.  When I got back, I googled to see where it was filmed, sure enough, it was in the Wadi Rum.

We would LOVE to go back here soon (heehee, thankfully we have a holiday coming up so we will take our good friend, Spencer there),  There is so much to do in a desert, like ride camels, hunt for fossils, climb up sand dunes and hunt for petroglyphs. I didn't take many pictures because I was too tired to even move.  I just sat in the sand and relaxed.  Next time, I'll be a bit more happy snappy.