AQABA, JORDAN

Petra is the legacy of the Nabateans, an industrious Arab community who settled in the south of Jordan more than 2,000 years ago. From a hidden staging post, they dominated the trade routes of ancient Arabia, levying tolls and sheltering caravans laden with Indian spices, African ivory and animal hides.

Petra is the legacy of the Nabateans, an industrious Arab community who settled in the south of Jordan more than 2,000 years ago. From a hidden staging post, they dominated the trade routes of ancient Arabia, levying tolls and sheltering caravans laden with Indian spices, African ivory and animal hides.Petra’s most famous monument, the Treasury, appears dramatically at the end of the Siq. Used in the final sequence of the film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, this towering façade is only the first of Petra’s secrets. Various walks and climbs reveal literally hundreds of buildings, façades, tombs, baths and haunting rock drawing relief’s – enough to keep us here for many a day. Amongst the treasures of this almighty monument is a 7,000 seat theatre from the time of Jesus, a palace tomb in roman style and a gigantic 3rd century deir (monastery). Due to time constraints, we are not able to visit the monastery on a group basis, although individuals with lots of energy may get to this monument.Following our guided walking visit of the Siq, we shall return to the entrance where it shall be just a short walk to the visitor centre. Here we shall re-join our coaches and be transferred to a local hotel, where we shall stop for lunch.

Please note that we do not recommend this tour for passengers with limited mobility or wheelchair passengers, as there is a considerable amount of compulsory walking over rough and uneven ground. A good degree of fitness is required for this tour.We do have the opportunity to ride a horse from the Visitor centre (starting point of our tour) in Petra to the beginning of the Siq. For those who prefer not to ride the horses, it is possible to walk from the visitor centre to the entrance of the Siq. The walk/ride will take approximately 15 minutes.Due to the sheer amount of walking involved at Petra, the guided walking tour usually comes to its conclusion just after the Roman Theatre and the Urn Tomb. Approximate distances are as follows: The overall length of the Siq is 1.2 kilometres (0.75 miles), however due to time constraints it is possible that only individuals with lots of energy will reach the end. We expect that our guided walking tour will be approximately 3 ½ - 4 hours in duration.A soft drink and one bottle of mineral water as well as Tea and Coffee will be included with lunch. Any additional refreshments can be purchased at the hotel.

DESCRIPTION CORRECT FOR 2008 WORLD CRUISE