Petra, Jordan

I loved Petra.
I think it's probably the most amazing place I've ever been, more monumental than the Pyramids at Giza, huger than the leaning tower of Pisa, more stunning than the glories of Rome or the natural beauty of Niagara Falls.
I think one of the reasons Petra is so amazing is that it covers such a huge site. There are miles and miles of hiking paths and hidden tombs and carvings all over the place. All of Petra's buildings have also been carved out of solid rock rather than built, which is incredibly impressive when you see some of the structures that seem to stand away from the rock faces. Also the land is amazing, even if there weren't carvings all over the place, it would be an amazing place to visit with it's a large natural rift with layers and layers of rock visible . In a lot of places the land looks striped with all the different colours of rock, reds, oranges blues and creams all together is simply breathtaking.
I took approximately one bajillion pictures during the three visits we had into Petra including a night visit so instead of bombarding you with them all in one go I'm splitting them up. Here is the first bunch of pictures, these start at the main entrance to Petra and go through a natural gorge (caused by moving tectonic plates rather than water) called a Siq and end up in front of the most stunning  site in Petra; the treasury.

 

There has been habitation in the area for thousands of years, these caves are thought to have been Neanderthal dwellings 

A lot of people who work in Petra are Bedouin and keep horses, camels and donkeys which visitors can ride, there are also carriages for people who are unable to walk the whole distance. The carriages do go quite fast through the Siq and you hear them thundering towards you from quite a distance.

The Nabateans (the people who built Petra) were incredibly skilled engineers, these channels carried water several km through the Siq to the city

I love these pictures which show how tiny people look compared to the height of the Siq walls. I couldn't manage to get to full extent of the stone walls into a picture!

At the end of your walk through the cool shade of the Siq you're met with this sight. The Treasury in full sunlight, simply stunning!