We’re pretty lucky to live in an age where travelling to places and discovering information about them is ever more open (we hope we’re helping you out on those fronts). But there’s one downside to all this freedom – we’re harder to impress.
When was the last time a true tourist attraction really took your breath away?
But there are still tourist destinations out there that will blow your mind when you first see them – even if they are crawling with fellow seekers of that illusive wow-factor.
Petra in Jordan is one such place. The simply astonishing 6th century BC archaeological (it’s no longer inhabited) city is carved into the sides of a basin within the great valley that runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.
You begin a visit to it with a three-quarter mile walk through the Siq, an atmospheric narrow gorge with cliffs rising more than 250 feet that was once the city’s main entrance.
At the siq’s end you’re met by the stunning El-Khazneh (The Treasury), a towering building sculpted from the imposing sandstone cliff stood before you. It might feel familiar – it features as the final resting place of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
It’s difficult to sum-up Petra’s magnificence in words. When making it a World Heritage Site in 1985 Unesco described the rose-red city as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage”.
Its inclusion in the 7 Modern Wonders of the World probably says a little about its breathtaking credentials too.
Day trips run daily from Amman, the Jordanian capital. The 10-hour round trip typically includes a two-hour private tour with an English-speaking guide. The £150 cost includes entrance fees, a horse ride and all transfers.
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
(Image: To Uncertainty And Beyond)
