Who Ive Met ... and my byes to the Middle East

They say that the people you meet on your travels are what makes your trip so special .. so as my time away is coming to a close, I reflect on all the people Ive met, avoided, bumped in to, been served by, laughed with and yelled at .... Maybe this is weird, but I want to thank, remember and reflect on my little brain storm of people to follow ....

Sita and her sister who lived on the streets of Kolkata and did tourist’s henna. Meg and dave who I dragged to the blood temple in Kolkata. The boy who had one hand and who insisted on carrying my backpack for me in Darjeeling because I was sick.

The dozens of Indian men who insisted on having their photo taken in the classic "bollywood hero" poze.

The children in Amritsar who thought they were on T.V when they saw themselves on my digital camera screen. The ladies from the wildlife training group who I shared a train carriage with on the way to Darjeeling on the train, who bought me coffee, tea, biscuits and wanted to help us learn hindi, to make it easier to be in their country. In Amritsar, Kuku and his family, whose son had to return from Australia because of the Indian student bashings, yet who opened their house and their home to us to use as our own.. who took us to the doctors when I was sick and who brought tea up to my room when id been ill. The notorious camel men in Bikaner … Mamraj and the crew. John in Riskikesh ‘that’s oookaaaay’ and who when serving me a bowl of icecream, couldn’t get the scoop off the spoon so pulled it off with his fingers and patted down the entire bowl of icecream with his palm to make it flat! The idiot young boy in the lobby of Rishikesh hotel who insisted on calling me mooti every 2 seconds and considered it flirting. The women in pink on the local bus near pokran after the camel safari, whose children were either on our laps, spewing out our windows or asleep at our feet. Gorgeous Rama and her loser of a husband Jags from Jaiselmer .. Rama who was everyone’s mother, and loved feeding everyone. And her Indian husband Jags who managed to have a dual Australian/Indian passport so spent months in both countries every year, who was on newstart allowance and strained himself to have as strong of an aussie accent as he could possibly muster .. whose every second word was ‘bloody’ .. who picked on Indian culture and everything else that wasn’t aussie. He was useless. The man who taught us Turkish in Avylik and who was desperate to have us understand that the English work ‘sick’ meant ‘dick’ in Turkish, so never tell people you felt sick .. he was so worried, so kind. The weird woman dressed all in white who I had an hour long conversation about religion with in Mt Abu. Xavir from Belgium who said “supple’ too many times in a sentence and who loved the new English word he learnt, “stuffy” .. said it was the cutest word he’d ever heard .. stuffy. The men in the tea shop in Cappadocia, who insisted on wiping the seats of our rained on motorbikes, who gave us free cay and who showed off his pigeon. Charlotte and Scott in Olympos – who were old and lame to the American teenagers, and who were only 30!!! The American father and daughter combo in Selcuk who were a bit too happy and zen for my likings!

Tyler and Molly ... the American dream couple, Ken and Barbie, from the deep south .. Molly tells us that "Tyler cant grow a moustache .. and Tyler got a rash in Cairo". “Boss”, the day staff member at Sultan Hostel in Sultanahmet, Istanbul. Gorgeous Rosie, the 60 odd year old Turkish born English woman who worked on yachts … who wore boat shorts, a white tshirt tucked in, with her long black hair up in a pony tail clipped up with a red rose, bright pink lipstick with long red nails and little lacey bobby socks with her boat shots .. really gaudy, really sexy and totally gorgeous… Rosie .. whose boyfriend was a diver and as he saw the boat we were on go past the dive boat, her mobile started ringing and she grinned from ear to ear knowing he’d seen the boat and was calling the second he saw it. Gobie from Bergama, the 80 year old pension owner who danced around all the time and was glowing when he introduced me to his grandchildren. The lesbian from Canberra who was big and bad and butch, but who was scared of the water and hated being cold.

The terrible 4 year old kid in Safranbolu who hated tourists and kicked me and told me I was a bastard and to piss off! The couple we met on the Butterfly Valley cruise from England who had just lost a baby, still born, but who were pregnant and were excited to be able to tell someone cause they weren’t telling people from home … he was so gorgeous, with ‘gracie’ written in the form of childrens building blocks tattooed onto his forearm .. his lost daughter. Artie – the tour leader in Oludeniz on the day trip to Dalyan .. who didn’t stop talking… PIONEER TRAVEL with AAARRRTTIIIEEEE.

The dirty little gropey man in Iraq whose wandering hand got slapped mid-photo shoot.

The gorgeous family from war-torn Mosul who came to the human-made cement waterfall for a day trip from the trauma.

Pappa Smooch, the dirty old Falafel owner who puckered up. The proud old Syrian man in the hotel in Aleppo, Syria who said that Syrians are not strong people, they are weak and they are poor, but if you are lost and looking for somewhere and you stop every 20 metres to ask for more directions, everyone will help you .. this is a fact. We are a kind people who love to help. The hundreds of Syrians who call out ‘welcome to syria’ either in Arabic or in English .. hundreds. The camp as all fuck gay guy in Syrian market .. absolutely hilarious... Aladin who promises a subscription of Meals on Wheels to any possible wives, and Majid whose longest relationship was for 6 hours.

The man in Aleppo markets who gave us toffee and rose petal sweets .. everyday . just because.

The Palestinian man from the behind the wall who pointed to his olive trees down in the valley and said that they are his olive trees, that he has not be able to touch for 6 years because he is not allowed to go outside of the wall.

The Palestinian woman serving in the carving shop in Bethlehem who just ... looked so sad.

The Palestinian woman who was taken off the bus in front of everyone, who was humiliated, embarrassed and ashamed ... just because they can.

The not-so-useful hotel manager in Jeruselem who literally only knew how to say 'sorry im not sure of that', when asked about busses, hotels, places to see, directions, ANYTHING.

The man in the Aleppo market who gave us toffee and rose petal sweets, just because.

The numerous waiters who have tried to understand and feed me! Those who have tried to understand how chicken can possibly be meat.

The endless security guards who have let me in places where I shouldnt be.

The endless men who have bruised egos, and sometimes bruised bodies, because they were inappropriate .... and told so.

The hundreds of women covered all in black except a one inch slit for their eyes, who I can tell were smiling at me from behind their veils .. through their eyes.

All the children who stared and whispered to their parents how you say 'hello' in English .. and then yelling out excitedly to me.

The people who have let me photograph them and were patient in directing and helping out useless tourists like me.

The people who walked me all the way to where I needed to go instead of pointing.

The people who understood with a look that I was NOT in the mood for shopping, buying, looking, browsing, visiting, having tea, having coffee, talking about my personal life or going with you to your carpet shop, tea shop, sheesha shop, jewellery shop, silk shop or bag shop. Thanks for stopping after only 43 attempts.

From the American military men and the right-wing Australians and the boozed up Aussies on Anzac day, to the wide eyed Arabic children and the amazing welcomes throughout, I am really greatful and honoured to have been a guest in your countries. I acknowledge that so many of the people I have met on my trip in the past 6 months will never travel outside of their country, some due to poverty, others due to military restrictions and segregation ... I acknowledge more thoroughly what a beautiful and peaceful religion Islam is, that it's principles are based on love and peace and equity. I recognise how lucky I am to be of able mind and body, born into priviledge and freedom .. that I can move about freely in this entire world. I realise how being a woman is my greatest 'disadvantage' but that this is minor comparitively to the women in this region who are mostly silent and invisible. Invisible because they are in the home, or because they are expected to work the fields whilst the men socialise in the community.. invisible because they are behind dark heavy veils which cover all of their physical identity, invisible because they are not deemed able to work in the public sphere in any capacity. Invisible because they cannot be trusted to be faithful, to not be weak and to not be impressioned by the world. A world which values men over women in every aspect, that is based on culture and tradition, rather than religion. I recognise that I am lucky to be a born a woman in the west, but that being a woman in the world makes you vulnerable and challenged beyond thought ... about your place in the world, society and community.

As I am writing this blog on the last night before I fly home, I realise how many more people will pop into my head over the coming months and years, who have made this an unforgettable journey. I have learnt a lot and been greatly challenged ... my eyes, which I thought were opened, were not. The fire in my belly is roaring for social justice - for what is right and what is so very wrong.

I cant say Ill miss everything from the middle east, there is a lot that is very hard to understand and live with, but I have loved it all and have learnt a lot.

Shukran Middle East ... Thank you Middle East.

Salam Alaikum - Peace be with you.

(Pics - sunset over the Nile River on my last night, oh and a watermelon buggy mid-traffic, cute).

Egypt - Cairo

Here I am, at my final destination. I am sooo looking forward to coming home. I am sick of the heat, sick of the men, sick of the food, sick of living out of a bag, sick of the constant harrassment, sick of cheap tacky hotels and sick of constantly being on my guard for inappropriate groping and 'passing by too closely'. However! I AM IN EGYPT! It seems like so long ago that I had planned to come here, and in between broken plans, broken hearts, changes in direction and perhaps just growing up a bit, I have landed in one of the most ancient lands in the world to see one of the 7 wonders of the world.

After a long 14 hour bus ride from Dahab on the coast to Cairo, with around 12 military/security check points en route, we arrived in the ever chaotic Cairo. My first impressions are that it is very 'India' looking, perhaps similar to Delhi. After being fucked around at a hotel we'd made a reservation at, we ended up at Sara Inn Hostel, right near the HUGE Cairo Museum. Spent a whole day in the huge museum which has required a full day to walk around. The thing that struck me the most was the Mummies. They really were mind blowing - the detail in their embalmed skin and hair, their finger nails and the detail in the shape and colour of their skin was incredible - some of these Mummies are over 4000 years old! Seriously mind blowing.... still with hair on their heads and eyelashes in tact too! Absolutely incredible if not a little spooky. Spent some time trying to do some shopping in this city of chaos and many a wandering hand ... on the first shopping expedition I was crotch groped, but I assure you the bloke got more of a fright than I did when I caught him as he tried to slip past and gave him a good shove around. Asshole! So ... the highlight of course was the Pyramids of Giza.

You cant really explain to someone the sheer size of the Pyramids, the precision and the awe that they envoke. The largest Pyramid is 146 metres high ... which I know sounds huge, but when you see this, it is even more impressive because its a Pyramid that is more than 4000 years old ... FOUR THOUSAND YEARS OLD. How amazing is that. I just stood there in awe, of the size, the construction and a little of that feeling of 'shit Im in Egypt looking at the PYRAMIDS!'. I bet no body who hasnt seen them realised that they were smack in the middle of the chaotic city of Cairo! Youd think by all the photos and postcards and stuff that they were in the middle of the desert, which I guess Cairo is, but its really amazing that just 8 ks out of the actual city centre are the Pyramids!

Pics - Top 2 are of the streets of Cairo, yes that is a huge goat on that man's shoulders!

The rest are of the Pyramids obviously, and the Sphinx. A few of me looking the ever-tourist, or a little Bangle-like in my walk like an egyptian photo shoot. What I want to draw your attention to is 8 down from the top - if you look to the bottom right youll see a little white dot - which is actually a napping security guard! The next shot is of him zoomed in. It shows you just how HUGE the Pyramids actually are. The next shot down is great, its completely banned to climb the pyramids, but becaue the security guard is in a very deep sleep this Muslim family got the chance to have a photo shoot on top of the Pyramid bricks, classic. Look carefully in the shots for people, Ive tried to take photos of the Pyramids with people standing at the bottom, or in the entrance way to go inside of them (see shot 13 down from the top, theres a security guy in white standing quater way on a step on the biggest of the Pyramids). Youll notice in the last 3 shots, this Pyramid has a white cap on it - all of the pyramids actually used to be covered in lime stone, but over the years all the lime stone has been taken off and used to build churches, mosques, palaces etc. This is all the limestone left on any of the Pyramids.

The last shot is one for Dad, thought youd like to see how they use computer monitors here in Egypt ... as street cones for parking !!!! Funny.

Oh and check out the twi-tower esque aeroplane shot!!!!

Ill be writing one last blog I think before I leave, but this is my last stop before flying home on Tuesday afternoon from here.... Mixed emotions of excitment, nerves, relief and Im sure more than a bit of me will definitly miss this region.

Egypt - Dahab.

After a few days in Wadi Musa its off to the ferry-border crossing from Aqaba in Jordan, to Nuweiba in Egypt. It was a fairly easy border crossing and nice to do it by water, with a 'natural' border. Met some fantasic Australians on the boat over, Kara, Jade and Ryan, and one American guy David, all with a very similar sense of humour and nice to exchange stories of the middle east, had some raucous laughs. We all were headed to the same place, Penguin Hotel in Dahab, right on the beach. We shared a 3 hour mini-bus to Dahab, where I fully intended on staying put for a week or so to chill out by the beach and relax before Cairo then home... shit, home! Its come so quickly, but also feels like a life time ago that I had a panic attack in Adelaide before flying out !!! Dahab is a really nice spot, very Thailand-esque. Did an amazing day trip snorkelling to a place called the Blue Hole, which is called amongst the huge diving fraternity as 'divers graveyard'. The Blue Hole is a sinkhole (a kind of cave), around 130 m deep. There is a shallow opening around 6 m deep, known as 'the saddle', opening out to the sea. But the reason it is called Divers Graveyard is because there is a 26 m long tunnel, known as the arch, which lies at a depth of 52 m down, it starts inside the blue hole and ends in the open ocean. Its notorious for the number of diving fatalities which have occurred there and is referred to on Padi's website as the "World's Most Dangerous Dive Site". Accidents are frequently caused when divers attempt to find the tunnel through the reef (known as "The Arch") connecting the Blue Hole and open water at about 52 m depth. This is beyond the PADI recreational diving limit (which is 40 m), and the effect of nitrogen narcosis is apparantly significant at this depth. Divers who miss the tunnel sometimes continue descending hoping to find the tunnel farther down and become increasingly narced. The "Arch" is reportedly extremely deceptive because it's difficult to detect because of the odd angle between the arch, open water, and the hole itself, its really dimly lit most light enters from outside so it also appears shorter than it really is. Divers report that the Arch appears less than 10 m long but measurements have shown it is 26 m from one end to the other. Also there's frequently a current flowing inward through the arch towards the Blue Hole, increasing the time it takes to swim through. The arch continues downward to the seabed which is beyond view and there is therefore no "reference" from below. The Blue Hole itself is no more dangerous than anywhere else to dive, but the Arch tunnel has proved irresistible for many and thus the dive site is considered unsuitable for beginners and a potential trap for even experienced divers. The Egyptian authorities claim that 40 divers have died at this site since records began; however, many local dive guides believe that the authorities are deliberately underestimating the numbers so as not to detract people from coming, and that there have actually been at least twice that many fatalities, nearer to 100. There's a graveyard on the cliff face overlooking the blue hole, which is VERY off putting! But I spent all day there snorkelling, there were sooo many fish and it was just absolutely beautiful, and I hadnt realised the significance of the graveyard and I didnt know about this tunnel either until after. Was kinda spooky. I had such a beautiful time here, snorkelling over the diamond looking bubbles that bubbled up from the divers ... it was magical actually.

Oh and they hold free-diving championships here, the world champ lives in Dahab and practices here all the time, diving down without any breathing apparatice to as far as possible .. pretty cool!

Id planned on doing a dive here, my first ever, but of course being at a beach which is also in the hard core Egyptian desert meant hayfever for me, so Ive been too conjested and the Instructor said Id have to go to the doctors before I went in .. and the fact I couldnt clear my fucking ears meant I couldnt dive. Disappointing .. but Im just looking at it that now my baby sister can be the first to take me out diving! Also, it sounds weird, but the amount of snorkelling Ive done here in really really deep water and the amount of diving Ive watched (Ive sat watching first time divers of the past week learn their skills and stuff and have it pretty much memorised!) has taken me from petrified of diving to just mildly nervous... and actually excited.

Anyway, it has been a beautiful stop here on the Red Sea coast. The men were annoying, but the water was beautiful. I met some great people, and a gorgeous 3 month tortoise called Yusef who belonged to one of the staff at Jasmine hotel really made the trip here something to remember. Yusef was the apple of Shariff's eye, this 40 odd year old man who would dote over this tortoise like it was his first born child! He would bring it in to work in a little lunch box and put him on the sand to walk around on all day, then take him home at the end of the day. Absolutely adorable. The plague proportion of cats and kittens (literally plague numbers) was not something to remember and I have a new found hatred for animals near food (not helpful to my already OCD ways!). From here its off to Cairo, and I'm so eager to get home its not funny. I am looking forward to getting a bit of a shop on and of course seeing the Pyramids, but I am sooo oover the constant sexual harrassment and learing, I just cant wait for some quiet ... and some time to sit on my own and reflect on my trip, which is all becomming a bit of a blur at the moment. I am just .. well I'm tired actually. Of the heat, of the constant harrassment, constant questions about my tattoos, my hair, if Im married, if Im looking for an Egyption husband etc etc, its all fun until its been 6 months of it !!! Anyway, onward to Cairo .....

Pics - Top shot is of cars getting on the ferry across to Egypt from Jordan - classic. Me at a pool I fequented in Dahab, Next 12 shots are of the Red Sea, just from outside my hotel ... got some classic shots of the local kids jumping into the water - after I showed them the first couple, every kid in sight wanted a shot of them quote "flying like superman" .. was very cute how excited they got seeing themselves 'flying' ! Next shot is at sunset, taken from my balcony and looking out over the sea to Saudi Arabia... cool huh. Next 3 shots are of my hotel, and one including a little horse which galloped by with its mum most days .. last few are of Yusef the tortoise and the last one is of the Blue Hole, a shot that I stole from the internet just to show what it looks like.

Hitch Hiking in the West Bank and headed to Petra, Jordan.

SO! The part I didnt get to in my last epic Palestine blog is that getting OUT of Israel was a fucking nightmare! Id COMPLETELY had enough by the time I left, Id spent the day in Bethlehem and was back in Israel and just couldnt help but feel pissed off at all these people who werent realising how lucky they were to be free to roam around their country, to scowl at the money in the Jewish areas and started to get really wild about being ripped off by already rich Jewish men. Headed to the bus station to get the next ticket out and back over the border to Jordan to see Petra. As we were heading through the metal dectectors and loading up our luggage on the xray machine (as you do when ur in a bus station in Israel), there was hundreds of military around, they all carry machine guns here, and because ALL 18 year olds have to do 2 years forced military service (girls included), there are a heap of babies walking around in karkies with machine guns slung over their shoulders .. also at the bus station, aside from the stock standard sight of machine guns, was a young Muslim girl, about 18 years old or so trying to lift her huge siutcase onto the xray machine ... aaaalso at the bus station was a 40something year old Jewish woman who also happened to be a fucking bitch... so the story goes like this of when I lost my cool in Israel ... I put my backpack onto the xray machine and the Muslim girl is standing right behind me waiting patiently, she tries to sling her suitcase on the xray machine but cant lift it, I tell her 'hang on just one sec love, ill give you a hand let me just put my friends bag on' .. I lift Nadia's bag onto the xray machine and then turn to help the young girl with hers. Meanwhile, cue the fucking bitch, she shoves her bag between my hands and the young girls luggage and gives me a little shove .. I look at her and say "excuse me, but I'm helping this girl with her bag, youll just have to wait a second" and I block her from putting on her bag. She looks at me as Im trying to put the huge suitcase on the machine and says "Ill go first actually" and puts her bag in FRONT of the muslim girls bag on the conveyor belt. I take her bag straight off the conveyor belt and put it BEHIND the muslim girls bag, which was actually where it should have been in the que. She grabs my wrist and says "I SAID ILL GO FIRST" .. I reply "youd wanna let go of my wrist quick smart lady, I assure you, you are most definitly NOT going first" and load the remainder of the girls things onto the conveyor belt ... she woman glares at me and I tell her that manners will get you a long way, she mutters something, I mutter back some profanity which could surely get me deported, and decide its time to put myself into time-out before I dont have to pay the departure tax at all and am deported via a military escort!!! It gets better ... after having yet another argument with a total asshole selling bus tickets, we board a bus for the King Hussein bridge border crossing (there are 3 land crossing in Israel that get you back into Jordan, one in the north, one in the south and one where we wanted to go, right in the middle) so, this asshole tells me that the bus goes all the way and finishes at King Hussein Bridge, should be about an hours ride or so. Off we go ... driving, and driving and driving .. I dont recongnise anything from the way in but who knows. The bus goes well past an hour and theres no sign of military, which would signal the border crossing. We make a fuel stop and we ask someone how much longer to King Hussein Bridge, a fellow traveller says that stop was half an hour ago and we are nearlly at the northern border crossing, which was the EXACT opposite direction of where we wanted to go in Jordan.... so we get off and are told that we can just grab a bus going back the other way in about half hour. So, there we are, standing on the side of the road in 50 degree heat waiting for a bus at 3pm, the hottest part of the day in the Palestinian desert. Also standing on the side of the road is a young Jewish boy, about 10 years old trying to hitch a ride... in the West Bank (dont really like his chances since most of the number plates were Palestinian). We decide to try and hitch also since it was boiling and there was no sign of this said bus, after nearlly an hour of us trying to get a ride (yes, hitch hiking in the west bank is safer than it sounds!), and this Jewish boy also trying to get a ride, we realise that he probably wasnt getting a ride from the Jewish cars because he was standing near us, and we probably werent getting a ride from anyone because we were standing near him . We split up and he is picked up by a Jewish family 3 mins later, we however are not, and end up waiting nearlly 2 hours for a fucking bus. So .. finally we're at the border. We go through the first Israeli military check point, have our passports stamped out, pay the bull shit fee to leave the country (which is twice the price for locals because they want to discourage people from leaving), grin and bear the rediculous questioning and smart ass tough guy comments from the military and get on the security bus which runs between the Israeli and the Jordanian border. After so much fucking around, and it now being 7pm and we left to cross the border at 8.30am (the whole thing SHOULD have taken about 3 hours but instead we ended up hitch hiking in the west bank desert!). We watch as many Palestinians (who have special permission to leave the area) are turned away, fucked over, over charged and turned away for no particular reason. On one of these occasions, we were on the shuttle bus between the Israeli border and the Jordan border and a young Palestinian mother of 3 (all VERY young kids, all under about 4 years of age) is sitting near us. She is processed through the Israeli side and is nearlly at the first Jordanian check point when 3 machine gun armed men get on to check that everyone 1- has a Jordanian visa, and 2- that everyone was stamped-out at the previous Israeli check point .. she is pulled up for not having the required Israeli stamp. She says that the Israeli officer would not stamp her passport as it wasnt necessary, which was an absolute lie. Regardless, she and her 3 babies were taken off the bus in front of EVERYONE and all her luggage put on the side of the road to wait for an authorised vehicle to take her back into Israel. As the woman is standing on the side of the road in 45 degree heat with her 3 children and piles of luggage, she bursts into tears and is sooo embarrassed. Her little girl, who I'd given a handful of lollies, waves up at me from the side of the road and her mother cant even look at me, she looks sooo ashamed and embarassed. As our bus pulls away and we leave behind a deeply ashamed Muslim woman and her 3 children who did everything by the book, but were totally set up to be fucked around and sent back .. seemingly as a punishment for being one of VERY few Palestinian woman allowed to leave the confines of Palestine and to discourage her from utilising her right and 'priviledge' to travel. An american/palestinian sitting near us explains that this happens all the time, and another woman sitting behind us pipes up that it happened to her just yesterday, that they didnt stamp her passport correctly knowing that she would be sent back from the first Jordanian check point and that perhaps the humiliation, shame and embarrassment of being pulled off a bus and sent back in front of everyone would deter them from tring to use their right to some element of freedom. ANYWAY .. we finally got out of Israel and headed straight for Wadi Musa, to see one of the 7 wonders of the world, Petra. Got into a shared taxi to face another 4 hour journey .. it was a very very long day to say the least. Arrived in Wadi Musa where we stayed for a few nights ... I was completely exhausted, my iron is pretty low and I'm really over the heat and the constant harrassment from men (which I wont go in to, but for the record, I have been very popular with middle eastern men and they find it appropriate to say things mostly of a sexual or provacative nature whenever and wherever they feel like, they graze past your breasts at leisure and almost cause themselves injuries to try and look down ur top or something, Im completely OVER IT and ready to punch on over it). So .. the only thing we really did in Wadi Musa was see the ancient city of Petra and chill out and read. Petra (where Indian Jones, the Last Crusader was filmed) is now a world heritage site and one of the 7 wonders of the world, it was truly beautiful .. amazing actually. Although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this amazing place. It has to be seen to be believed. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. To get in to the ancient city, you walk the 2 kilometres through an extremely impressive dark, narrow gorge called the Siq (in places its only 3–4 m wide, with cliffs as high as 80 metres flanking the walk way), its a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. Even walking through this is absolutely amazing. At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh (known as "the Treasury"), cut into the pink coloured sandstone cliff face. The Treasury, has a massive façade, 30m wide and 43m high, carved out of the sheer, dusky pink, rock-face and it totally dwarfs everything around it! It is HUGE! It was carved in the early 1st century as the tomb of an important Nabataean king and represents the engineering genius of these ancient people. Truly genius. The whole site of Petra takes like 8 hours or more to walk around, (the protected area is like 264,000 square metres in size) it is HUGE and there are lots of long walks up to the top of monestrys and sacred spots which can take hours. We spent like 10 hours there all up, its a looong day but really just so beautiful. There are lots of Bedouin that still live there (the nomadic tribes) in the many caves. There is a Roman-style theatre, which could seat 3,000 people, obelisks, temples, sacrificial altars and colonnaded streets, and high above, overlooking the valley, is the impressive Ad-Deir Monastery – a flight of 800 rock cut steps leads up there, which we actualy did on the back of a donkey!!! Lazy I know, but totally cute and saved about an hour of time. There is a brilliant 13th century shrine, built by the Mameluk Sultan Al Nasir Mohammad to commemorate the death of Aaron, the brother of Moses.

Anyways, the pictures speak for themselves - it was magnificent. The top two are of Siq, the path into Petra through the cliffs, which were so amazing, you could imagine a mountain actually cracking in half and it making a pathway, the two sides of the cliffs fitted inside each other perfectly. The 3rd pic down from top is the first sight of the Treasury as you come out of the Siq. The next 3 are of the Treasury. A couple of gorgeous donkeys, and then just a few of the site itself, note closely the people standing on the rocks in the photo 9 down from the top, just to give an idea of the size of this place. Check out the shot straight after the one where Im looking up at the Donkey, its taken looking up at the Monestry and a couple of retard American tough guys had climbed to the top of it and you can actually see their feet hanging over the edge at the top .. look carefully! Again, gives u an idea of the size of the place. Note the state of my dusty feet at the end of the day at Petra, of course I was wearing my Australian Hiking Boots (Havianas!). The last 2 pics are of the sunset over Wadi Musa, the town which is nearest to Petra (about 1 km away from the Petra entrance).