We arrived into Petra early in the morning on Thursday 15 th June 2017.
We met up with our tour group which was a private tour we had booked through cruise critic. There were 12 in our mini bus and as soon as you like we were off for the two hour trip to Petra. We drove through the town of Aqaba, the port town which was fairly quiet due to Ramadan. Our guide Moses whom is Greek Orthodox explained all about the history of Jordan, the royal family and the tensions in the surrounding countries; which when you look on the map you can see Jordan shares borders with Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Syria.
What can you say about Petra!!
Photos do not do it justice at all.
It is simply incredible and to think they believe 85% is still to be unearthed is mind blowing. I think with the state of uncertainty in the surrounding countries at the moment it is probably best left uncovered for now.
To do it justice you really have to stay in the local area and visit over a couple of days.
We didn’t race to the monastery as it would have been at full pelt and in the heat we decided to keep this visit to the Treasury, the Royal tombs, the amphitheater and the temple. This allowed us time to really appreciate these sites and still give us something keep on the list for next time.
The visit to the site of Petra ended with a meal at a local restaurant which was tasty and welcome by 2:30 in the afternoon.
The countryside was just as much a surprise, as we were all delighted to see many Bedouin tribesmen and their families living in goatskin tents tending their herds of goats and camels.
Others on the ship went to Wadi Rum and others went to a local hotel resort to swim in the Red Sea.
Before knew it it was time for sail away and our next adventure sailing through the Suez Canal.
Offtolivetheworld 
