May 5th – A Picture Perfect Day!

Update: May 5th Internet service was not available. This is what I wrote, yesterday. Today was another really long day so I doubt I'll do much more than post pictures. Maybe I'll catch up when I get home :-)

Here’s a summary of the day, because I’m fading fast and don’t think I’ll be able to do much more than upload some pictures. In a nut shell, I awoke to a beautiful sunrise, galloped on an Arabian horse (twice!), climbed up the most amazing rock formations that could possibly exist, spent some time on a sacrificial altar, stood in the Dead Sea, and watched the sun set into Jerusalem from across the Dead Sea. There is no way I can possibly describe what I saw today. God’s creation is truly magnificent and I’m so glad I took this opportunity to put into context what we read about in the Bible. It has already been and experience I’ll never forget!

See http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com for the biblical significance of the site we visited today.

I knew it would be a good day when I opened my window to find a blush of color in the sky behind the rough, sharp rock formation outside my window. If only I had known what was in store.

The Siq at Petra

We left the hotel around 8:00 a.m. stopping briefly at an overlook to get a glimpse of the mountains and valley below. Through my long lens, I can see carved structures come into focus. Oh my…this is going to be a good day! We continued down to the entrance to park among what appears to be 30 or more buses just like ours…I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It is the most visited tourist site in the area. We enter the gates and start the day with a rest stop. I think I have spent at least half of the trip waiting in line. They really aren’t equipped to handle such large crowds. By 9:00 we were riding Arabian horses down the hill. My “handler” (the guy that owns the horse and walks with it) slowed or stopped at everything we passed. See they get tips at the end of the trip. When we got behind he asked if I had ridden a horse before and off we went! We raced down to the foot of the hill and caught up with the rest of my group. I think someone got a picture and I’m sure it was not pretty. What a ride!

Our walk begins down into a region called the Siq which is an area of enormous rock formations that reach to what seems like the sky. After 30-45 minutes of literally gawking at textures, colors and carvings in the rock including a flood prevention system of channels, we turned the corner to get our first glimpse of “The Treasury” which is the classic picture you always see from Petra.

It is a massive temple carved into the side of the rock in the 1st century BC. Because it is protected by valley rock walls, it has deteriorated less than other structures. It is truly an unbelievable feat of ancient engineering, but we’ve barely scratched the surface. Our ultimate goal for the day is reaching the “High Place” and view it offers. Little did we know the journey would be equally rewarding. We continued down the path past more unbelievably carved temples and tombs and in the distance we see an enormous stadium carved into the rock. Around the corner is a path to the high place.


                                                                         The Treasury





I’ll have to finish this later. I can’t keep my eyes open. Jane was working on hers on the bus, so for those of you following the blogs, check her site for the rest of the story! I’ll try to finish it up tomorrow.

May 6th Update: The internet connection here is really slow too. Check the websites of those with aircards and maybe you will find more. I will try again at a different time of day. It has taken an hour to upload 3 pictures and I really need some sleep! Please forgive any typos since I'm practically doing this in my sleep.
http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com
http://journeyswithjane.blogspot.com
http://thejamesmiller.wordpress.com