So, Petra. This post is going to be controversial for some. Let me begin by saying that if you’ve visited Madain Saleh then don’t expect to be totally amazed by Petra. Really. It’s good but you won’t be amazed because you’ve seen somewhat similar structures in Madain Saleh. Albeit the ones in Petra are on a much grander scale. Of course, if you’ve visited Petra and then visit Madain Saleh then same applies.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that it’s bad or totally disappointing. It’s just that the ‘WOW’ factory for me wasn’t there due to Madain Saleh. Granted the treasury building, the first major structure you’ll encounter, is very impressive, but, the rest of it is OK.
One thing I definitely do NOT recommend is the 900-step climb to see the Monastery. Seriously, save your lungs the trouble. Just look at the photos. Once you’ve seen the Treasury building, it’s not going to top that. We unfortunately ended up walking to it. It was a good job we got to Petra really early (8am I think) when there were like 10 or 20 visitors only and the weather was beautiful.
The climb to the top is exhausting! There are shops along the way if you want to grab some refreshments but be prepared for an hour+ climb up. O and watch out of the dogs. At points you may even be tempted to take a donkey up.
Jordan Tourism are really missing a great opportunity to build some cable cars or something to get people up and down.
Having said all of that, my friend enjoyed it and he would highly recommend you do the climb so I’ll leave it to you.
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