Petra

The Treasury Building

Today I did the complete Petra visit. I started at around 8:30am and finished up by 2:30pm (and there were many things I still did not see). It was pretty hot at times (I had to remind myself I was in the desert after all), but as the sun changed positions, the colors of the sandstone mountains went from yellow to pink to red to orange. My tour guide was a retiree who did the job part-time – he spent twenty years in the Jordanian Air Force and, the world being small as it is, spent time training at Fort Bliss and in San Antonio.

Petra is an ancient city carved into solid rock by the Nabataeans, whose capital it became, about 2,200 years ago. It eventually became part of the Roman Empire and later the Byzantine Empire. It was a major hub for commercial activity and because of its position on a trade route, it soaked up a lot of foreign influences. After trade routes changed and earth quakes damaged the city, it was eventually abandoned by the 14^th Century and was re-discovered in 1812. The most famous site in Petra is the Treasury Building (which was launched to pop-culture fame not by the amazing building feat that it is, but thanks instead to its prominent role in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade).  The name “treasury” comes from an old myth that the urn at the top of the building was filled with gold.  It is actually a tomb of a Nabataean king. It is huge and was carved into a single piece of rock. It has Egyptian, Roman, and Greek influences. I had been looking forward to seeing it in person since the trip began, and it did not disappoint.

Other sites in Petra were a 6,000 seat arena, numerous tombs, temples, churches, a column lined street of shops, and building that would be equivalent to a city-hall. All along the Siq, the main entrance to Petra which is a deep and narrow gorge, there are terraces for water (for bringing in water to the city and for camels to drink – including one that had camel legs and feet on the bottom).  There were also niches carved into the sides of rock where idols of gods would be placed. You could also see writing in Aramaic and Greek. Water and rain have created some amazing color striations on the rocks.

Overall Petra was awe-inspiring and totally worth the trip (even though you leave pretty sweaty and dusty/sandy). It’s no surprise that it’s considered one of the Wonders of the World. Tomorrow I leave Petra to spend my last day in Jordan at the Dead Sea. 

Walking through the Siq

Tombs and Temples

Color striations in the rocks

In front of the Treasury - this involved several takes before getting a picture with the entire building

Fig tree growing into side of the mountain along the Siq

On the Road to Petra

Shobak Castle

Petra is about a three-hour drive from Amman, and on the way I stopped at Madaba, Mount Nebo, and the Shobak Castle.

Mount Nebo is in the Moab Mountains and is home to a monastery and large mosaics depicting biblical scenes. Most of the mosaics date to the 8^th Century. Mount Nebo is more famous for being the place from where Moses saw the Promised Land and was later laid to rest. The exact location of his burial site is still unknown, but there is a memorial marker to him on the mountain top. I was lucky because it was a clear day, and from the look-out point you could see the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, and out towards Jericho and Jerusalem.

The Shobak Castle in Wadi Mousa is a crusader castle that is on a mountain top.  When you get to the top and look around, it appears as though you are in the middle of nowhere. All that I could see around me was the desert and hills of sand. There were only three other people when we got to the top, and it was really peaceful, but also a little scary because there were no railings or anything else to keep you from falling off the side of the mountain. Needless to say, I walked as far from the edge as possible, and pretended not to be scared while the guide was talking.

We then made it to Petra. After checking-in to the hotel, I did a “Petra by Night” tour. I was convinced it wasn’t going to be worth it, but I’m so glad I did it. There were lanterns placed along both sides of the path into Petra and apart from the moon-light, it was otherwise dark. The sky was clear and so the moon was providing a lot of light and the way it reflected off of the mountains made it look like they were covered with snow. The best way to describe the walk is that it felt like you were walking through the middle of the Grand Canyon at night. We arrived at the Treasury Building which was illuminated by hundreds of lanterns and listened to some local musical performances. I took the advice of others and left before the performance was over so that I could walk back along the path without the crowds. For certain stretches, I was the only person walking on the path and it was totally quiet. It was really an unforgettable experience.

View from Mount Nebo

View from Shobak Castle

Pretending not to be scared near edge of cliff at Shobak Castle

Shobak Castle

Petra in the distance at dusk

Happy Eid from Amman



Jerash - "Hadrian's Arch" - Built to commemorate
visit of Emperor Hadrian in 129 AD

 I arrived in Amman last night, stop number three on my trip. I flew from Istanbul on a large Airbus plane, but there were only about 40 people on the flight- I had an entire middle section of 5 seats to myself. Even though the flight was only an hour and a half, they serve you a hot meal (free!) and any drinks you want (also free!). It makes me wonder why I'm stuck paying $5 for a giant chocolate chip cookie on flights back home.

Today is an important holiday in Islam, Eid, and so it is an official holiday in Jordan. Most stores are closed and most people are visiting with their families. Except for the tour guide who showed me around today - but lucky for him a lot of sites were closed as well, so it was a short day.

The highlight of the day was a visit to Jerash, an ancient city about 30 miles outside of Amman. The site is considered one of the largest and most well preserved examples of Roman architecture in the world (oustide of Italy). The ruins date back to the 1st and 2nd Centuries. It's really unbelievable - and only part of it has been excavated. There are theaters, column-lined streets, fountains, shops, streets (with carriage markings on them and manholes for the water system below), temples, churches, and a large public square (that is actually an oval). The largest theater seats 5,000 people, and the front seats had Greek letters on them because they were for specific and important people. Some of the granite used cannot be found in Jordan and is from Egypt. Jerash was a central point on a major commercial trade route until the mid-3rd Century. In 749, earthquakes did major damage to the city, and it was thought to be uninhabited not long after. It was re-discovered in 1806, and excavations began in 1925.

Tomorrow I head to Mt. Nebo and Madaba, before arriving in Petra at night.

View of Old Amman from the Citadel

Jerash - Temple of Zeus

Jerash - Column Lined Street (and awkward pose)

Jerash - part of a decorative water fountain in the city center, much like the Trevi Fountain (security camera at top not original to 2nd Century)

Jerash - Oval Plaza

Istanbul

The Hagia Sophia

Istanbul was everything I was told it would be: full of energy, beautiful, historic, and at times overwhelming. On my first full day, I headed back to the Sultanahmet area so that I could see the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia while they were open. The Blue Mosque's interior had soaring ceilings and numerous domes - all covered with a beautiful floral design. The Hagia Sophia was probably one of my favorite things I have seen so far. The building has stood since the 15th Century and was previously a basilica, mosque and is now a museum. It was also the largest cathedral in the world for almost a hundred years. It has fresco ceilings and walls and intricate carvings and mosaics. Most of the mosaics depicted scenes from Christianity and were plastered over when the building became a mosque. In the last few decades the plaster has been removed to expose the art behind it.

After leaving the heart of the old city - which still has a wall around it - I went to an area called Taksim Square. I was lucky enough to be with my former roommate from law school who is from Istanbul and lives there now. This area was sort of like Times Square - packed with people and lined with shops and vendor stands. There were many streets that branched off the the main one and these were lined with restaurants, cafes and bars. It was a Saturday night, and every place was crowded. I was trying really hard to make sure I didn't get lost or left behind, because I have no idea what I would have done. After walking around we had an Ottoman style dinner that was definitely fit for a Sultan. I must have gained 5lbs just from that dinner alone. Almost everything invovled lamb and eggplant, so it was all delicious. We checked out a few of the nightlife spots and called it an early night.

On Sunday, we went the banks of the Bosphorous River, which divides Istanbul between the Asian side and the European side. It's a major hang-out spot for locals on the weekends, especially when the weather's good and the sun is out. There are beautiful homes and trendy restaurants all along river bank. We also checked out some other neighborhoods in Istanbul, including the downtown and financial district areas.

I'm really glad I finally made the trip to Istanbul. It's definitely a place that deserves a return visit for a longer time. And the continued succes with great food didn't hurt.

Inside the Blue Mosque



Inside the Hagia Sophia - Looking Down From the Second Floor Balcony




Sophia Hagia Part 2 - Thanks to tourists from India for taking my picture



Hagia Sophia Part 3 - Fresco ceilings and carvings

After the giant dinner - definitely had to go down a notch on the belt

Bosphorous River and bridge connecting Asian and European sides of Istanbul

Financial District of Istanbul

Merhaba from Istanbul

The Blue Mosque - built in the early 17th Century

That means "hello" in Turkish. I just got to Istanbul today, and thanks to some flight delays, did not get here until it was already dark. One thing that I still find amazing from my previous travels abroad is how widely distributed the TV show "Dallas" was. When I told the taxi driver I was from Texas - he asked "Dallas?" I said, yes (because I thought it would be a little difficult to explain my suburb of North Richland Hills), and he immediately said "OH yes - Bobby! J.R.! Pamela!" I'm so glad that's the vision of Texas that people around the world have.

By the time I got into town, most of the sights were already closed, but I went into the Sultanahmet area, which is the heart of the old city, and took in the Blue Mosque, the Haghia Sofia, and the Topkapi Palace at night. They were all lit up beuatifully and are really stunning to see. As I was walking up, the last call to prayer was taking place and I tried to capture some of it on video. I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow, and of course, having some amazing Turkish food. And I will try to make my future posts shorter than my Rome one.

I came, I saw, I ate.

I have spent the last two days in Rome, and it has been great. The weather finally got better, and it hasn't been raining or storming anymore, so I was able to make it out and see almost everything that I wanted to. I was lucky enough to visit Rome 14 years ago, and while I do remember a lot from that Kumar family trip (that mirrored the Griswold family European tour in many ways), there was a lot about Rome that I had forgotten.

On my first day here, I did a small marathon of sight seeing. I managed to fit in the Monument Vittorio Emanuele, the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Qurinale Palace, and the Spanish Steps. A couple things I learned about Rome are that there is something worth stopping and admiring on almost every block, and second, it is incredibly easy to get lost. The streets are small, change names suddenly, and are not in any sort of grid or anything even close to it. But, I guess that has been part of the fun. I walked everywhere, and luckily a lot of the major sights are close to each other. Unlike the summer, the big tourist crowds are gone and it's been great to not have to fight crowds to see everything.

Today, I spent most of the day in Vatican City where I saw St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel. Being there made me really glad I came back to Rome, because I definitely did not appreciate all the incredible works of art when I was 12 as I do now. The ceilings in the Sistine Chapel really have to be seen in person to be believed. And taking it all in without the crowds made it so much better. I also went down to the Papal tombs - there are definitely a lot of Popes that I had never heard of before (and a lot in general), and I found reading about them really interesting. Of course, the biggest crowd was at the tomb of Pope John Paul II. It was really a moving site to be at - there were flowers, letters, pictures, and candles left by visitors and several people were emotional as they stood in silence.

Now the really important part: the food. I was determined to eat great food in Rome (and not just because I'm trying to recreate Eat. Pray. Love. on my trip - although my friend from law school, Christine, did point out to me that my itinerary is very similar to the one from that movie). The place I'm staying at is actually an old home of an Italian noble family - there are only 12 rooms and so the staff is really great and gave me excellent restaurant recommendations that were not tourist traps. Yesterday for dinner I went to a restaurant near the Trevi Fountain - it has been family owned since 1929 and the clientele is made up mostly of Romans. They sat me in a room in the back that was clearly reserved for the tourists and non-Italians, but it was fine. The menu was all in Italian, but I was able to figure most of it out. I had prosciutto with melon, spaghetti carbonara, and for dessert, a fresh custard with berries. I felt reassured when I saw waiters taking the same things I ordered to the tables where the locals were sitting. It was all amazing. Forget what you know about spaghetti. And the dessert had these mini-strawberries in it, also amazing.

I researched some restaurants before getting here, and one that popped up in several "best restaurants in Rome" list looked perfect. The hotel staff seemed to be impressed I knew about it because it was another place that was off the beaten path and not a tourist trap. Dinner was all booked up for the next week, but I got in for lunch today. The restaurant was small and packed. I was definitely the only American in the place, but the waitstaff was patient with me (by Italian standards anyway). I had the cacio e pepe pasta (which is all the rage in Rome right now and this place was listed as having one of the best), roast lamb with potatoes, artichokes "Roman style" and tiramisu. It was one of the best meals I've had. Ever. I'll never be able to go back to the Olive Garden or have tiramisu again. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Italy has been a success. Tomorrow I head to Istanbul.

(I don't know why the last two pictures keep publishing as sideways, I will try to figure that out. But for now, just turn your monitor over or something).



At Trevi Fountain - the nice lady who took the picture cut off one of statute's head.



One of the hallways in the Sistine Chapel - NOT the Venetian in Vegas

Me making a funny face with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the background.



Days 1 and 2 - Amalfi, Italy

View from the hotel room

I arrived in Amalfi, Italy yesterday after what felt like the worst journey of all time. Eight hours of turbulence on the flight from NYC to Rome, a long wait at the train station in Rome for the train to Naples, and then a two hour drive through the mountains to Amalfi. The scenery during the drive was amazing - we were literally going up and down mountains on winding roads the entire time. The coastline was gorgeous. The only problem was that there was a thunderstorm the entire time and I was sure we would skid off the side of the mountain at any minute. The driver seemed less concerned, only adding to my stress.

I'm staying at an amzing cliff-side hotel and am lucky enough to have a balcony looking out over the coast. The weather has not been cooperating though, and it has been windy and raining.

The weather let up enough today for me to go into the town of Amalfi and check out the amazing cathedral that dates back to the 12th Century and has the bones of St. Andrew in its crypt (or something like that - I was trying to discern the signs that were in Italian using my less-than-proficient level of Spanish). I walked around the main piazza and through the narrow streets. Tourist season has ended here and so you can really get a sense of what the town is like. It's really beautiful - there are lemon trees everywhere, the streets are brick and cobblestone, and the buildings are all old and painted in different bright colors. Because of the weather I was unable to go to Capri as I had planned, but it was great to relax here in Amalfi for a couple of days. And the food has been amazing. The best fresh mozzarella and basil pesto I have ever had. Not to mention the nutella gelato. And let's be honest, half the reason for this trip was the food.

Tomorrow I head to Rome - more from there to come. And yes, I plan on using the phrase "When in Rome" at some point.

Shocking

As many of you know, I decided to take a trip before starting work at a law firm in January. What's shocking is that: (1) I actually booked this trip and am on it after talking about it for a year, but not really doing anything about it; and (2) I took everyone's advice and set up a blog to document the trip. I'm doing it partly because some people wanted to read updates and see pictures, but  mostly so that I will actually remember the details of this trip when it's over. I've never blogged before, so apologies in advance if this does not go well. But I'm giving it a shot. Here we go...