All the clues in this post refer to one Ya’lla Tours destination: Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Turkey, or United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai).
We’ll show you images of popular tourist sites in our mystery country, along with descriptions of those sites. Continue reading
Happy Friday. Some random shots of Ya’lla travelers:
at Ernest Hemingway’s house in Cuba, Finca Vigia
at Ernest Hemingway’s house in Cuba, Finca Vigia
in the Bastakiya district of old Dubai
at Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt
at Caesarea, Israel
at Caesarea, Israel
at Masada, Israel
at Bethany Beyond the Jordan in Jordan – likely baptism site of Jesus
a group on the tour bus in Oman
in Oman
at Pergamum, Turkey
the Dead Sea
Do the placid (and therapeutic!) waters of the Dead Sea harbor a distant memory of rampant brutality and fiery retribution? Maybe. According to the Bible, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were located in the area known as the Plain of Jordan, which scholars place around the southern end of the Dead Sea, between Israel and Jordan.
Here’s the story: Continue reading
the Giza Pyramids, Egypt
Too obvious? Maybe so, but there’s no denying the wow-factor of the pyramids at Giza. The largest, known as the Great Pyramid, was built for the pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek). It stands almost 500 feet tall and is constructed of 2.3 million limestone and granite blocks, some of which weigh 80 tons. Some of the materials were locally sourced but the granite, 8,000 tons of it, came from the quarries at Aswan, 500 miles up river. The Giza pyramids were all built about 4,500 years ago, which makes their immense size all the more incredible. We know they were built as tombs and archaeologists have come up with some very plausible explanations for how they were built; still, few places on earth inspire such wonder.
The Treasury as seen from the siq, Petra, Jordan
The whole of the ancient city of Petra is astonishing, but, for a couple of reasons, the Treasury is the unequivocal star. In a city full of tombs, dwellings and temples, most of which are carved right into the canyon walls, the Treasury is the best-preserved and grandest of all. Then there’s its alluring position. Surely it’s no accident that the city’s best building is the first thing you see upon entering, if you come though the siq (canyon), which most visitors do. After walking for about a mile, you come around a bend and there it is, magnificently filling the seam of light that opens onto the city. It says “Be impressed.” And you are. The likelihood that you have been anticipating the sight with every step does not diminish the effect. CLICK to read more about Petra.
Meteora, Greece
At Meteora in central Greece, six Orthodox monasteries cling to the tops of soaring sandstone pillars and look out over the stunning Peneas Valley. The monasteries were built in the 14th-16th centuries by hauling materials in nets 1,000 feet straight up the sheer pillar walls. CLICK to read more about Meteora.
I visited Wadi Rum while co-escorting a group of about 30 with Rich Davis, our Midwest sales manager and frequent guest blogger. Our incomparable guide Ahmed was our true leader but we were there to make sure all services ran smoothly and keep track of everyone. It was a large group, so we were forever rounding up stragglers and counting heads. Of course our #1 responsibility was as keepers of The Box, but I mention this only as a cryptic allusion to another post sometime in the future.
Wadi Rum was towards the end of the 10-day tour of Jordan and was a highlight for me. I was very excited when our bus dropped us at the visitor center, where we were to board 4×4 vehicles and ride into the wadi and meet the bus on the other side. The visitor center consists of single story buildings and a wide open courtyard looking directly out at the famous Seven Pillars rock formation.
The 4×4 vehicles weren’t quite lined up when we arrived and the group was spread out around the center, looking at the displays, visiting the toilets etc. Like a nice hostess, I got in the end of the line for the restroom. When I went into the lady’s room my group was spread in all directions and the 4x4s had not arrived. When I came out 3 minutes later I didn’t see a single face I recognized.
Although it was true that I had been left behind, the thought was so inconceivable that it didn’t even occur to me until I had walked around the whole center and made a visual sweep of the outside perimeter 2 or 3 times. How does a group of that size disappear in 3 minutes? They were so gone I couldn’t even see their dust. Thirty scattered people coalesced, distributed into 6 vehicles and rode beyond the horizon, with their dust, in 3 minutes. I had been corralling these nice people for over a week and couldn’t fathom such a thing. It’s a mystery to this day.
I know what you’re thinking. OK, 5 minutes, max. I swear.
Just as I was realizing my situation a handsome man in traditional dress approached and asked if I needed anything. I’m pretty sure he had been watching me circle and was way ahead of me. He took me to an office where I phoned Ahmed, who sent a truck back for me. Because they were split into so many vehicles, no one even knew I was missing.
A few minutes later a Bedouin-driven Toyota 4X4 blew up in a cloud of dust. I rode in the cab with the driver who drove very fast across the sand while peeling an orange and sharing it with me, section by section. He swerved abruptly a few times and I squealed involuntarily, which he found highly amusing. He chatted away in Arabic the whole ride, although I think I made it clear I didn’t understand him.
It was only 10-15 minutes before we reached the group, which was stopped to take in the astonishing scenery. The assumption was made that I had stayed behind to conduct important Ya’lla business. I did not dispel that myth. Only Rich and Ahmed knew the truth.
Read about Petra, biblical Jordan and border crossing between Israel and Jordan in previous posts.
Visit www.yallatours.com/jordan to see our Jordan tours, all privatly escorted and customizable.
I’m trying to figure out how to write about Petra without resorting to overused, and thus meaningless superlatives and adjectives of wonder. The English language really needs some fresh words to describe truly impactful places and experiences. I considered making up some words of my own but made-up words are mostly just annoying.
How about we use Italian adjectives. Say them out loud with feeling; remember to pronounce all of the vowels and include exuberant hand gestures: MAGNIFICENTE! FORMIDABILE! MAGICO! STUPEFACENTE!! Now you get the picture.
I was stupefied by Petra. For me, the only other site that matches the stupefying effect of Petra is the Giza pyramids. I’m sure there are many other places that would strum a similar chord (Machu Picchu for one) but I haven’t been there yet.
I don’t mean to rank Giza and Petra the best places I’ve seen. I never know how to answer the question, “What’s your favorite place?” Every place has its own power. The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Athens Acropolis, the Fez Medina, the Sahara Dunes…each strikes at a different angle and evokes a unique response. It’s a vibrational thing. I can attempt to categorize them but I can’t rank them.The Category of Stupefaction (TCS) encompasses stunning feats of design and engineering, with an element of mystery.
Within TCS I would make subdivisions. Petra’s being was commercial; so, coming from a highly commercial place and time myself, culturally it’s somewhat more relatable than Giza. The ancient Egyptian culture of Giza, despite all we know about it, is still quite alien (and I don’t mean ET alien, necessarily). Part of Petra’s effect is its spectacular physical setting. Giza is many things, but naturally beautiful is not one of them.
Thinking about the specific ways I’m moved by different places and why sent me on a bit of a tangent. Thank you for your patience. You got the abbreviated version, believe me.
Back to Petra, where I was stupefied by sprawling monumental remains of an elegant city carved into the red sandstone walls of a desert canyon.
Petra is entered through a long narrow split in the mountains called the siq. It’s about a mile long with 500 foot striated, undulating walls on either side, barely 10 feet across in some places. The whole way through, around every bend I was anticipating my first glimpse of Al Khazneh (the Treasury), Petra’s most famous monument, which is positioned to fill the hairline view through the end of the siq into the city. I had butterflies in my stomach, my heart raced a little. The walk through the siq is thrilling because of where it leads but it’s also incredibly beautiful in and of itself. Besides the natural loveliness, I noticed channels carved into the rock walls, which captured rain water to protect the city from flash floods and to create a man-made oasis. Petra’s sophisticated water works also included miles of ceramic piping from area springs and over 200 cisterns.
At my first sight of Al Khazneh, the rest of the world dropped away. I was conscious only of moving toward it. Then I was there, standing in the shadow, climbing the steps, feeling the cool stone. It’s real and more impressive than any photograph or breathless blog reminiscing can convey. And there’s so much more. Al Khazneh is just the beginning.
Petra was a city of 50,000 at its peak 2,000 years ago, built by the Nabateans, a nomadic Arab tribe that controlled the trade routes in the area. The city was established in the 6th century BCE as a hub for traders traveling from the east and south to the Mediterranean port at Gaza. Imagine the camel caravans carrying exotic products from China, India, Arabia and Africa en route to points across the Roman Empire.They all passed through this crack in the mountains and they paid to do so. Petra was fabulously wealthy.
The freestanding buildings are mostly gone. What remains are hundreds of rock-cut tombs, temples, theaters and dwellings. You need a full day in Petra, at the very least. If you want to really explore, take three days or more.
Petra is in southern Jordan, about 165 miles south of Amman and 85 miles north of Aqaba. You can do a day trip from Eilat in Israel or Aqaba, but it makes for a very long day (it’s about a 2.5 hour drive each way).I highly recommend spending at least one night at Petra. The town of Wadi Musa sits just outside the ancient site, serving Petra visitors much as Petra served itinerant traders back in the day.
Read about biblical Jordan and border crossing between Israel and Jordan in previous posts.
We get a lot of questions about Israel border crossing. It’s very common to combine Israel and Jordan as travel destinations and somewhat common to combine Israel and Egypt. Continue reading
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