poundster.com

Days 61-63: After a few nights in cheaper places we decided to treat ourselves in Petra, where we stayed at the Amra Palace, which immediately impressed us with its clean rooms and swimming pool. However the best was yet to come: our shower was the best that we could remember in more than two months […]

While at Petra we climbed to three of the high points with views back over the site and surrounding valleys. The first was to the High Point of Sacrifice, with views to the south; the second was to the formidable Monastery. This hike, on a less-well-trodden path, which gave us a great view overlooking the magnificent Treasury building, was a great way to finish our two days at Petra.

Just uphill of the monastery begin a series of signs enticing visitors to the two viewpoints boasting certain advantages over the other. At first, the two trails seem to be heading in separate directions, leaving visitors a dilemna and feeling as if they have to make a decision based on the strength and veracity of the competing claims.

In the card game of international tourism, Jordan wasn’t dealt too many cards, but it did pick up a few aces. First, there was the surprise of the Dead Sea, later it was our desert experience at Wadi Rum, but the trump card in the middle, the absolute Joker, was Petra.