Jordan

Petra, Jordan. The ancient city of Petra is the main sight to see while in Jordan. Al-Khazneh (The Treasury), is one of the more impressive buildings at Petra. It's a Roman-styled crypt carved straight into the cliff face nearly 2,000 years ago. It's a building - and a sculpture!

Right: You enter Petra through this long, narrow slot canyon, and the first thing you see is this view of the Treasury. If this photo looks familiar it's because this same shot was used in the first Indiana Jones movie.

Below: It's hard to get too many photos of Al-Khazneh. Every angle shows different details. Here's a picture of a limo pulled up out front.

Some parts of Petra are constructed like a "normal" city, but most buildings are carved into the surrounding cliffs. I guess they figured it was just easier to carve into the soft sandstone than to haul in a bunch of heavy construction materials.

Petra, Jordon. Some random photos from around the Petra complex. Clockwise from upper left: The central area of town - the parallel rows carved into the cliff are bench seats in the amphitheater; another large Romanesque-carved cave that was probably some kind of government office; an area of large elaborately-carved caves and facades that we called "main street"; looking out the door of one large cave at another.

In the middle of Petra is the amphitheater, which is also carved right into the cliff. Nice, comfortable rock seats. A more zoomed-out view of the whole structure is in the upper-left photo above. The Roman columns add an interesting touch.

Wadi Rum, Jordan. Wadi Rum is a large valley in southern Jordan that's known for its great desert scenery. The name means "Valley of the Moon".

Wadi Rum is a great place for desert adventuring: 4x4 touring, camel rides, overnight camp trips, extreme tanning....

A nice older lady we met way out in the desert. She was even more friendly when she found out we were Americans. It doesn't always work that way. Jordan is very US-friendly compared to most middle-east nations. The fact that King Hussein married a very attractive American woman doesn't hurt.

Traffic jams are not typically a problem when driving around Jordan.