Petra, Jordan.

 Before we left Jordan we took a day trip to Petra which is an ancient and famous archaeological site in the south western desert of Jordan dating back to 300 BC.
 It was a very interesting two hour drive to get there through the very rocky and mountainous terrain passing small towns which looked very primitive and uninviting. Further out there were many Bedouin dwellers ( nomadic Arabs ) with small herds of sheep or goats to care for.  In Jordan alone there are 380,000 people living this kind of life.
The stop we made above gave us the opportunity to take in the vastness of this landscape and feel very privileged and thankful of where we live.



 Access into the ancient site at Petra was through this narrow canyon.

 The canyon just kept getting higher and higher.

 Looking skyward was a real reminder of just how high it was and how dwarfed you felt.

 The cliffs are a pink sandstone which gives everything a red look.

 At the end of the Canyon we get our first glimpse of the most well known building, The Treasury.

 The Treasury is the most elaborate building carved into the sandstone rock face. It is just amazing and fortunately there were not many tourists the day we were there. Petra was once a thriving trading centre. The city was in near ruins for centuries and it was only in the early 1800's that a European traveller disguised himself in a Bedouin costume and infiltrated the mysterious location to rediscover the ancient town. The town is still being excavated today with 85% still underground and untouched.

 Off course there is always a downside to a lot of these places. In this case the presence of all the Bedouin hawkers confronting you with their wares, cheap jewellery etc bottles of coloured sand, donkey rides, camel rides and horse and carriage rides etc was quite intimidating. Many were young boys who did not go to school and they were  more aggressive and rude than the young men. The poor animals get a very hard time from their owners. Our SPCA would have a field day.

 In spite of these young men trying to force their wares and services on us I have to say from a photography perspective they have certainly added a cultural atmosphere to the setting.

 And now its time for the long trek out. All up hill this time!

 The Boy fancies himself as a Jordanian Arab.

Goodbye to Petra. We really loved the Experience.

Suez Canal passage

 Our passage through the Suez Canal was pretty interesting and took 7 hours. It was of course extremely hot. We attempted several times to sit out on our balcony and go up on deck but the flies were unbelievable which made it really unpleasant. If we thought Australia was bad for flies this was really horrendous. Some residents left their door out to the balcony open and ended up with flies indoors which were almost impossible to kill with fly spray.

We travelled through the Canal in a convoy of nine ships, with ours being in the lead and the only cruise ship. All the others were freight.

At some of the small towns along the way there would be ferries crossing from one side to the other packed with people and cars.

 A welcome sign on the Sinai Desert side of the canal.

 There were sporadic makeshift shelters along the way, probably for workmen, although there never seemed to be much action talking place. Usually people were curious but friendly by waving back.

 We passed numerous small fishing boats using drag nets. There never seemed to be many fish in the nets when we saw a few hauling them in and what they did catch looked pretty tiny.

 Towards the Gulf of Suez end we noticed a lot more trucks with soldiers patrolling the area.

 There was also plenty of evidence of earlier trouble times.

 Every 250 metres there were armed security towers.

No sign of the guards doing their job here. We think they must have gone to sleep.