Arrival at Petra

Along the two plus hour drive through the mountains and plains we saw many bedouin homesites.  The Jordanian government has tried to encourage these Arabs to move into villages and in some cases to learn to farm.  We saw some of these farms.  Many have chosen to remain nomadic and we saw many, many herds of goats. along the way.   The government has also provided houses for these people but many prefer to live in tents adjacent to these homes maintaining the life style they have known for centuries.   Most often the tent is made of dark, usually black fabric which has been woven from the hair of the goats by the Bedouins themselves.   Schools and other services are provided and education is compulsory in Jordan.

Waiting for our tour to begin with our guide in the blue shirt on Al's left.

From the visitor center we walked 10-15 minutes to the entrance of the Siq (See later post, "What is Petra"}   Upon our return from the ancient city ruins this open area became a bit of a "death march" for us as we walked along early afternoon in temperatures which were well over 100F.   We were so glad to reach the small hotel where we met our fellow passengers for lunch.   Altogether 14 buses came from the ship including two carrying crew who were able to have the day off as so many had left!