Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?

Dum dum dum dum, dum dum dum. (The theme song, obviously.)

That's right folks, I recently visited Petra on my Jordan field trip. So exciting! And, surprisingly, Petra is much bigger then the treasury they show in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Which just shows you to never trust Hollywood, in case you hadn't figured that one out. Still, it was very awesome to walk down the narrow siq knowing what would magically appear at the end. Here I am making my way through the cool, narrow passageway. 

Here you see me, Jeff, and Maddy right before exiting the siq. Can you taste the anticipation? Maddy is sooo excited. The treasury is just visible in the background. 

Ta da! Here's the famous treasury. And now for a quick history lesson. Petra was built sometime in the 6th century BC by the Nabataeans. The Nabataeans were obsessed with death. Many of the carved buildings in Petra are tombs. They also were very skilled in gathering water in such a dray place. They carved canals along the siq that would send the water down to their homes. (Thanks, wiki.)

The further we walked into Petra, the better it got. Besides all the crazy-carved buildings (I still want to know how they did it. Aliens?), there were little shops everywhere. I think at least 37 people came up to me asking if I wanted to buy something. "Good price for you. Today sale only. Buy for your boyfriend?" These are only a few of the gems I heard. The 3 words I used most the whole day? "No, thank you."

Me and Danielle at the "Why Not?" shop. 

Some of the royal tombs carved into the mountainside.

During free time, some of us hiked up the the monastery. It was even more impressive then the treasury. After huffing and puffing up a steep trail, we came around a corner and there it was, huge and majestic.  

Brielle (my trip roomie!) and me at the monastery.

From the monastery, we took a quick trip to the end of the world, or a really awesome view of the surrounding country and the Dead Sea.

Signs directing us to the view.

View of the end of the world! We could also see the Dead Sea from up here.

Petra was a highlight of my time in Jordan. I would love to spend hours there, hiking around and exploring new places with my brothers.