A WONDERFUL last day!!

Today was one of the greatest days of the trip!  We travelled to Petra, and the ancient city leaves one speechless.  After a quick horseback ride you dismount and enter a narrow canyon, created by an earthquake.  The walls surpass 5 stories in height.  After a 15 minute downhill walk the canyon opens to an impressively enormous temple or shrine or royal tomb carved directly from the rock.  It is intricate and towering, truly an engineering feat, especially considering the rudimentary tools used by the Nabateans to carve the edifice.  The canyon widens and continues, revealing more tombs and carved buildings.  When the Romans conquered the Nabateans by siege they commissioned the building of a theatre, which is the only Roman theatre in the world carved entirely from a mountain side.  On part of the return walk Diana and I shared a camel ride, a movement I will never forget.  As they stand and lie down our bodies are thrown forward and back.  The walk is a fantastical gangling stride, and his neck is a funny bobbing swoop.

As I mentioned the horse ride before, fortunately they trusted that I knew how to ride and allowed me to trot and canter as I desired.  On the return trip I requested the same horse, a cute little 6 year old grey mare, about 15 hh named Sara, and one of the Jordanians rode his horse alongside me.  With very little goading on my part he decided to race me, and we took off running.

I like Jordan, a lot.  More than Israel and Palestine.  First, there are many more horses here (and I saw billboards for polo!); secondly there is greater harmony.  However, that is due to a more cohesive religious structure, nearly the entire country is Muslim with about 4% Christian.  And it is only in Jordan that I have seen women in burkas, accompanied always by a male in the street.  We are in Amman, which is the capital, and though it is Western in many ways, there is less deviance in female dress.  

Just a brief review of an astonishingly delightful day! Off to the border tomorrow, back to Jerusalem, and a midnight flight home.... it is always sad when a great trip reaches its end.

With love, Corinna