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Days 61-63: 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.

Visiting one of the new wonders of the world, we had reasonably high expectations. They were met. Petra is remarkable for the sheer scale of the enterprise undertaken by the ancient Nabateans in hewing monuments of truly heroic proportions from the rose-red cliff faces around Wadi Mousa.

After a walk down the narrowest of canyons, we opened onto the first of Petra’s great sights, the so-called Treasury. It’s an awe-inspiring monument. I’ve included some human figures in the photographs here to give some indication of the scale of the Nabateans’ creation.

The Treasury alone would probably sufficient to earn Petra a place among the wonders of the world, but there’s plenty more. We spent two days walking the site getting to some of the further away sights, including the ad-Deir Monastery (left), which was a good 45 minute walk uphill beyond the end of the Roman columnade. It was a hot walk up and then suddenly, we turned a corner, and the massive monastery was right there, left as it might have been some 2000 years ago.

Quite apart from the scale of the monuments, the setting itself is suberb. Many parts of the site are enclosed tightly by the red walls of the surrounding canyons, and it’s also possible to hike up to some of the high points overlooking the site. On the second day, we did one such walk for a special view looking down onto the Treasury.

At the end of the day, it was back through the Siq, narrow enough to offer shade for most of the day, as horses and carts continued to carry visitors through the canyon towards spectacular sights yet unseen.

Also on Petra: The Battle of the Monastery Viewpoints and Our Walk to the Treasury Viewpoint