Day 3: Camels are Cool!

Mohamed the Camel and I trek across the desert

Petra! This ancient Nabatean city was built with the money its creators made from mercantile endeavors. The Nabateans started off as a nomadic people who discovered that they could make money by offering to guard trade convoys through the desert. Apparently they learned a thing or two from the merchants they were guarding, because they took up the practice themselves and made a fortune. Petra is an enormous city, with kilometer after kilometer of awesome stone-carved treasuries, temples and palaces. Kudos to the Jordanians for the recent nomination and election of Petra as one of the World's New 7 Wonders. I sure voted for P-town. By the way, camels are awesome. You are really high off the ground, and it's a comfortable ride. Plus, the way that camels sit down is a ride in itself - they have to get on their front knees first, which pitches you forward. Then they lower their haunches all the way down, which pitches you backwards. They are the most Star Wars-ey animal I've ever seen. I can't remember the name of my noble steed. We'll call him Mohamed. Mohamed the Camel.

Petra is also the site where they filmed the final righteous scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. No Nazis to be found while I was there, unfortunately.

Spending the whole day in the sun was really tiring. Note the key cultural difference between Jordanians and Americans in these two pictures. See the sluggish, pained, almost pitiful look that Amer gives the camera as he sleeps sitting up (a traditional Jordanian sleeping posture)? Contrast this with my reclining body and smiling face. Heilige schlafe!