Petra: More Than Just A Pretty {Rock} Face

I didn't really anticipate waking up in a luxury hotel in Jordan on this fifth day of our trip--but that we did.
We had breakfast extraordinaire and loaded up to go to Petra!
I had googled Petra, so I knew this was going to be a big day!

(Thank you, Lord, that as I related HERE I didn't know just how big.)

Petra is entered through a siq--a passageway which is as narrow as 10 feet at some points with rock faces on each side as high as a 4 story building, and about a mile in length. 
You can read in that previous post about the l-o-n-g mile
in the donkey cart!

 Getting close!

And here it is!  Called "The Treasury"

Smithsonian Magazine chose this as one of 28 places in the
world to see before you die!
The book l,000 Places to see Before You Die,
 calls this 
"a magical sight!"

Although it dates back to 56 B.C., Petra was actually lost for centuries until it was "rediscovered"
in 1812!  (That's not so long ago!)
There is more than just "The Treasury"

This amphitheatre is hewn in the rock and seats 3000.

I could tell you much more about Petra and its place
in history, but I don't want your eyes to glaze over and your
head to nod.  It is mentioned in the Bible (sometimes by
the name Sela), and Indiana Jones was here!




All of a sudden I spotted this camel, and I just felt determined
to ride it.  (That's my giddy look!)

So I asked how much it would be just to ride back up to the Treasury.  We were at the amphitheatre at the time.
The young man said $15.  Now I am not a bargainer.
If he had said $50, I probably would have said "okay."
But Gary overheard our conversation, and he is a bargainer.
 He offered the guy $10. I panicked and said, "But, Gary, 
I really want to ride!  
Poor Gary just rolled his eyes and figuratively threw up his
hands!  But he did get me and about 8 others a ride--
for $10 each!
I thought I'd tell you this before he gets a chance to
make a sermon out of me!
 
Riding that camel was another highlight of my trip!

Good night, Jordan.  Good night, Dead Sea.
It's been a marvelous, 
exhausting, blessed, totally unforgettable day.
Thank you, God, for watching over me.
Every step of the way. 

Oh, my.  When I typed that, I remembered
THIS.
It wouldn't do a bit of good for anyone to try to tell
me that God doesn't answer prayers.
I didn't even have any idea how He was going to
need to take care of me....