Petra (Jordan)

Ancient Petra is the most famous attraction in Jordan, renowned for it’s architecture of large palaces, temples, tombs and the like, all elaborately carved from towering walls of rose-coloured rock.  Set in a hidden valley, the city was built sometime between the 3rd - 6th centuries BC by the Nabateans, who controlled the frankincense trade routes of the region. We spent a long, 12 hour day here battling the intense heat as we visited impressive sights such as the Treasury, the Monastery, the Royal Tombs, the Street of Facades, and the High Place of Sacrifice.  This is an amazing place to visit and was definitely worth every minute we spent here!

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Amman - Petra via The King's Highway (Jordan)

Originally we planned to go overland from Turkey, through Syria and into Jordan.  However, the violence taking place in Syria meant a change of plans, so instead we flew from Turkey direct to Amman.  After a brief evening exploring Amman we set off early the next morning on a daytrip that would take us to Petra.

Our first stop was the Dead Sea, which at 400m below sea level is the lowest point on earth.  Its incredibly high salinity (nearly 9x saltier than the ocean!) means that you bob on the surface like a cork – a very strange feeling! After spending over an hour in the water we continued on to Mt Nebo, where Moses first viewed the Promised Land and is now said to be buried.  Despite the haze we could see across the Dead Sea to Israel and the town of Jericho from up here. 

Our next stop was the town of Madaba which is famous for its mosaics.  The highlight here was the Greek Orthodox St George’s church which is famous for its mosaic map – an amazing map on the floor of the church of all major biblical sites from Lebanon to Egypt.  The mosaic was constructed in AD 560 but was only unearthed in 1884 and now contains only a third of the original 2 million+ pieces. 

From here we continued south through Wadi Mujib (a spectacular valley sometimes called the “Grand Canyon of Jordan”) to Kerak and its ancient crusader castle.  This huge castle was constructed in the 1140s and became a place of legend during 12^th century battles. 

We drove on until we reached the Dana Nature Reserve where we stopped for the spectacular views from the lookout and to buy tea from a couple of young boys in their shipping container café!  Our last stop was Shobak Castle where we again admired the stunning views before continuing on to Petra to end a 14 hour long, but satisfying, drive!

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Safranbolu (Turkey)

Our final stop in Turkey was the historic town of Safranbolu, which derives its name from the saffron spice used to flavour the local Turkish delight and is on UNESCO's World Heritage List due to its large number of well-preserved Ottoman houses. We visited a few of these beautiful old mansions (mostly built in the 18th and 19th centuries and generally with 10+ rooms!), including one that had a large indoor pool which was used to cool the room in summer! We also visited Cinci Han - a caravanserai (roadside inn which historically provided food and lodging for long-distance travellers and their camels along the main trade routes) dating back to 1645.

We spent the rest of our time in this gorgeous town wandering the cobblestone lanes, checking out the tiny gift shops and markets, and sampling the local Turkish delight which seemed to be on offer from nearly every other shop! This was also where we finally tried a traditional hamam (Turkish bath) - an interesting experience that involved being roughly washed, scrubbed, and massaged while lying on a marble table!

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