The Rose-Red City

"Petra by night" ... our first glimpse of Petra was in the soft light of hundreds of candles (sitting in sand-filled paper bags). Magic! Gotta plan for this as it doesn't happen nightly.

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Petra was obviously the highlight of Jordan.  We took a different approach by not visiting each and every ruin in detail.  Instead we hopped on a donkey each and wandered around the whole expanse of the site to fully appreciate the scale.  After being on these sure-footed animals on hairpin bends beside 200-foot drops (cliffs), I've got utmost respect for them.  Perhaps I'll never call anyone a dumb ass again. 

To be honest the donkey rides were pretty hair-raising and it was a bit much for Kim's parents.  We were assured by the guides that the route was "flat", only to discover that they meant "no steps but steep".  For the wrong people, it is definitely heart-attack material.  We were also told it was very safe but we read in the paper later that someone had died falling off (the cliff, not a donkey) the day before.