Jordan: Petra & Wadi Rum
By: Evgeny Padezhnov
Petra: The Lost City
Nothing prepares you for Petra. You walk through the narrow Siq canyon — towering walls of red sandstone on both sides — and then suddenly it opens up to reveal Al-Khazneh (The Treasury). It’s one of those moments where your brain can’t quite process what your eyes are seeing.
The city is massive. Most tourists only see the Treasury and leave, but we spent two full days exploring. The Monastery at the top of 800 steps is even more impressive — and far less crowded.
Wadi Rum: Mars on Earth
If Petra is a history lesson, Wadi Rum is a sci-fi movie. Red sand, massive rock formations, and absolute silence. It’s not a coincidence that The Martian was filmed here.
We stayed in a Bedouin camp — sleeping in a tent under a sky so full of stars it didn’t look real. The Milky Way was so bright you could read by it.
Highlights
- Sunrise jeep safari through the desert
- Climbing to the natural rock bridge
- Bedouin tea cooked over an open fire
- Sleeping under billions of stars
Jordan surprised me more than any other country. The people, the food, the landscapes — everything exceeded expectations.
