One of my personal favorites and somewhere I have personally visited is Petra in Jordan. Petra, meaning ‘stone’ in Greek, was founded around the 6th century BC partly due to it’s position as being along a trade route and easily defensible.
Many parts of the site, which is vast, are hewn directly from the mountains themselves.
Due to time limitations, our visit had to be at night. We were treated to Bedouin singing and mint tea followed by a description of the site. The walk to Petra from the visitor centre is surprisingly long and really gives the visitor an impression of how things were all that time ago. This is made easier by the musty scent of camel droppings and candles lighting your way.
