Lisa's Trip
Lisa did not travel with the Diggings Tour but she did take our Digging in Bible Lands course in order to prepare for her own tour. On her return she wrote this letter to me.
Well what can I say about Jordan as a whole and Petra in particular? Thanks to your video and your comments along the way I was able to maximise my time at Petra - we arrived there mid-afternoon on day one and we had the afternoon, the whole of the following day and until lunch on the third day to do as much as we could there, which was great.
On the first afternoon our local Jordanian guide escorted us in and showed us around the basic areas, up to the Royal tombs, the Byzantine mosaics and all the way along to the cafe/restaurant area at the far end. This gave us a great introduction to the site and enabled us to go explore on the whole day we had to ourselves - and I have to say I spent as much time as I could there - leaving the hotel at the crack of dawn (we were in the hotel right next to the gate and I could see the horse station from my room) and getting back just as it got dark. I walked down the Siq on each occasion but did cheat on one day on the way back and got a camel ride from the far end all the way bar two bends of the Siq - he shouldn't have done that but I had palled up with a couple where the wife had a walking stick and couldn't walk a step further after the full day's excursion and the camel guys were kind enough to do that for us - that was quite special to ride through the Siq up high - a totally different perspective of it all.
So on the whole day I managed to get up to the monastary after all - took it nice and slow and paused plenty along the way up - decided it was best to do that on my own so I could take the time I needed rather than rush at someone else's pace and not appreciate it at the end. Also got to the High Place of Sacrifice and a couple of other view points around and about. It was truly glorious and I can safely say that my dream destination fullfilled all expectations. The colours, rock formations and the carving of the buildings were spectacular and the heat was just ok to be doing so much walking about - anything hotter would have meant I couldn't have done so much but it was just perfect.
The first glimpse of the Treasury as I neared the end of the Siq was breathtaking too - having seen the video footage and the photos in the lessons I knew what to expect but to see it first hand was something else - totally awe inspiring. It was nice to have the morning of the third day too, as I could head back in and take a closer look at some the bits near the Siq - some on the trip stayed in bed late that day and had a rest but I was up at the crack of dawn again and heading back down for more. All in all it was fabulous and one that will stand for a long time in the memory banks.
Whilst in Amman we went to a museum where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept and the lesson about those really came in handy too as I was able to pass on the information to the fellow travellers with me.
So once again many thanks for your advice and the video. Once I have some time I will download a couple of the photos to send you but just wanted to send a quick note to say how much I loved Petra and Jordan as a whole.
Thanks again
Lisa
P.S. The pyramids in Egypt were nice but hey! Petra - and Jerash too come to that - beat them hands down!!!!
If you would like information about the next Diggings Tour, please use the form below and we will be glad to send you information on the itinerary and price.