Six days ago we reached Aqaba in Jordan, which is the main port and the access point for Petra. The area in which the port sits is remarkable, as it is the point where Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia meet on the Gulf of Aqaba and all 3 countries are visible at the same time. So much history in such a small area.
The drive up to Petra was through some spectacular countryside, with Bedouin camps along the way and colours so vivid that they seemed to be painted.
As we approached Petra, which is around 1500 metres above sea level, it became very cold and windy. This didn't seem to fit with our ideas of the Middle East.
Once we reached the site of Petra there was a long walk to the area, through the Siq, before we reached the monuments. Despite what is said about Petra it is, in fact, a funerary site - not a city.
The Nabateans settled in the area well before 300 BC and used the valley as a funerary location for their people with hundreds of tombs dotting the sides of the valley. Eventually the area was dominated by the Romans and many of the tombs were ransacked or even destroyed, as happened when the amphitheatre was built in the early years AD.
Eventually the site was abandoned when Rome fell and it was occupied by Bedouin for many years until the site was re-discovered in the 1800s.
