Jordan -A wonder of the World?

After the longest ferry crossing known to man (the crossing took 4 hours but we were on board for over10 hours) I left Egypt and entered into Jordan. The first stop we made was at the Wadi Rum national reserve. This is a desert with incredibly large rocks within it. Due to the strong winds the wind erossion over a couple of million years has left the rocks with interesting shapes and features to them. Wadi Rum is a beautiful place and was also the home of T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) for many years. It was from here he masterminded the unification of the Arab tribes and the subsequent defeat of the Ottomans during World War 1. This is the seven pillars of creation, the mountain that bears the same name as Lawrence's book. From the desolate landscape of wadi Rum wemoved northwards slightly to the town of Wadi Musa. Here I had my first Turkish Massage. This involves time in a steam roon followed by being vicsiously rubbed down by a large scrubbing brush. The amount of dirt that came out of me was worrying! But at least I had the jacuzzi and massage left to make me feel alot better about myself. At the outskirts of Wadi Musa is the centuries old city of Petra. This city was only rediscovered (ie by westerners) in the late 1960's. The city was built at the bottom of a gorge and the temples were literally sculptured into the rock face. They are truely stunning. You may recognise the Treasury from the Indiana Jones film. I had entered Petra at half 6 in the morning which meant for a couple of hours we had the place to ourselves before the tour groups arrived. Visiting all the sights of Petra involves alot of hiking - most of it up incredibly steep hills / cliffs. But the views are well worth it. By the time I descended from the Place of high Sacrifice it was 1pm and Petra was unfortunately sinking under the weight of all the tourists. I was so lucky to get to see the entire place without any crowds - it makes a place feel alot more special. As I was leaving a large group of people entered, chanting and waving banners. They were campaigning on behalf of Petra. Worldwide there is a competition going on at the moment to rename the 7 wonders ofthe world. Petra has made it onto the shortlist. The locals feel it deserves to renamed as a wonder of the world - and I must admit I agree with them. Petra is spectacular - makes the Pyramids look like a childs sculpture!
It was almost time to leave Jordan but on the way to Syria we passed the lowest point on Earth - 400 metres below sea level. The Dead Sea. So called because hardly anything can survive in the water as the salt content is almost 80%. The evaporation of the sea has led to this high salinity. The most famous side effect of this is the high buoyancy of the sea. It is nigh on impossible to drown in the Dead Sea - its impossible to stand up in it. the water just makes you float. The white lumps in the photo are giant salt crystals - you have to walk over these to get into the sea. Its certainly a novel experience and so much fun - the only drawback is that you cannot get water into your eyes or an open cut because by gum it stings. It was great fun though. My final final stop in Jordan was at Mount Nebo. This is where Moses looked out and saw the promised land. It is also where he is buried. I visited the church atop Mount Nebo and saw the promised land for myself. Coincidently it was Easter Sunday when I was on Mount Nebo so the visit had extra significance especially for the Christians within our travelling group. If Mount Sinai and now Mount Nebo was not enough my next stop will be the city of Damascas within Syria - a city brimming over with its biblical roots. I'm not sure what to expect at all from Syria but I'll soon find out...