Exploring Jordan

OK, since I promised, here are some more photos from my trip to the Middle East. The photos below show the nearest "modern" settlement to Petra - Wadi Musa - and there's also an important Bedouin settlement close-by.

Bedouin tents however can be pitched anywhere, even at the sides of the road. That really was in the middle of nowhere. It's a completely different way of life - sadly, for some Bedouins that way has been ruined forever because of exposure to tourism.

Petra is a prime example of just that. Actually known locally as Rekem, it was unknown to the Western world until 1812... despite being constructed back in 100 BC by the Nabataeans. The photo below shows where you first catch a glimpse of the famous Al Khazneh ("The Treasury") at the end of the Siq, a mile-long narrow gorge.

Petra is definitely a fantastic place to visit, as well as being historically interesting, but it is heavily aimed at the tourist market today.

I'm not a fan of tourist camels, but behind them you can see holes in the rock, which are actually caves where people slept.

Jordan really has an alien landscape - it's captivating - and it's why many movies are filmed there. Petra, of course, is particularly famous because of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but Wadi Rum is often used given it looks like another planet.

The one thing the photos don't do is give a sense of justice to just how vast the landscape is, how it stretches on for what feels like forever. Jordan is an amazing and mesmerising country, yet quite familiar in the cities. As I adore juxtapositions, it captured my heart immediately - I can't wait to return to explore some more.