“Freakin Tip-Top of Jordan”

This was the response Lindsay gave me when I asked her “where are we?” while exploring Petra, Jordan in the Middle East. The entire area of Petra is absolutely spectacular. The ancient buildings carved into the red rocks of this desert landscape have been inspiring travelers for centuries. The Treasury building is by far the most well known in all of Petra (it was featured in the Indiana Jones movie) but just as impressive is the Temple of Al -Deir a.k.a “The Monastery.” This spectacular structure is very well preserved and stands at the top of a long and step hike through the red rocks of Petra. There are numerous columns, spires and doorways all carved into a huge rock face that is so surreal looking it is difficult to explain. I can’t really remember how Lindsay and I found the trail leading up to The Monastery but I do remember it was step and difficult but very well maintained. You make your way through the rocks and cliffs on a footpath of stone steps. About halfway up we found a very old Temple carved into the mountain and took the opportunity to rest. We explored this briefly and then made our way back up the trial. There were very few people on the trail with us but at one point I remember hearing a lot of footsteps behind us. We both turned around and were shocked to see a group of donkeys, with packs full of bottled water, making their way up the trial with us. Their master had simply let them go at the bottom of the trail and they were so well trained they would walk up the entire way on their own. We stayed quite close to these donkeys as they were great companions for the hike. :) Eventually the trial leads you to a high plateau were you come around a bend and are immediately standing right below the incredible Monastery (explained above). Again, this structure is so spectacular looking it is almost impossible to explain. Imagine an incredible classical looking building with columns, spires, statues, etc…now imagine it carved into a rock wall in the middle of the desert. We spent the next hour exploring this structure and climbing to numerous different viewpoints to take it all in. We were so enthralled by the Monastery that we hadn’t realized that the hike that lead us up there also perched us high upon a mountain overlooking the desert below. We made our way to the highest point we could find and were shocked to see a young man with a tent anxious to chat (this was the destination for the donkeys as he also sold drinks). We chatted with him for a second and then found our way to our own little personal look out point were we could take it all in. There was an old battered flag of Jordan flying high and the view of the red rock desert below us was simply breathtaking. I busted out the camera and asked Lindsay where she was and she replied…”the freaking tip-top of Jordan.”