City in the Red Rocks

After our buses struggled up into the mountains I wondered if we would have to come back down those same curving roads. Soon I saw we were to stay up near the clouds as we passed through Madaba and continued along the ancient King's Highway. There are many villages scattered all over the mountain sides of Jordan - men and women and children are easy to see along the roadsides. Men and women wear head coverings. Mosques are everywhere; in the morning and evening we can hear the prayers of the Muslim people streaming in the open air over loud speakers. In the evenings men sit in small groups outside restaurants or on front stoops drinking tea and smoking. Women and children herd goats and sheep and camels are hitched to posts here and there.

Today we went down to Petra. Some of us walked down while others rode carriages. The guide showing my group around pointed out ancient statues for worship of the gods as well as ruins of rock-wall dams which helped control flash floods. He also pointed out sky bridges and petroglyphs among the soft and vibrantly colored sandstone walls. When it came time to walk around the corner to see the most famous sight of Petra, the treasury (and perhaps disspell our misconceptions), he lined us up single file telling us to cover our eyes. One by one we walked forward opening our eyes to see stunning, carved architecture. Several of us rode camels at Petra or hiked up to see more monuments.