TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Alrighty, now back to my Jordan Diaries! My last Incredible Petra Series entry before my 1-week hiatus was the 1-hour climb to Ad-Deir (Monastery) which I have to say was the highlight of our Petra visit. It was such an extraordinary experience. I highly recommend this to visitors. It is all worth it, the time, the effort and the energy. When we finally arrived at the top of the mountain, this is what greeted us: The beautiful Ad-Deir (Monastery) built during the 1st century BC by the Nabateans is the second most famed attraction in Petra. The overall design resembles that of the Al-Khazneh (Treasury) but the architectural embellishment is simplified. In front of the Monastery is a cave bar with an outdoor terrace. It’s nice to sit here and drink tea while admiring the Monastery. Further ahead are mountain top viewpoints that claim it’s the end of the world (not the recent hullabaloo in NYC okay) and having the best view of the rose-red city, Petra. We checked out the end of...

Now for the ultimate highlight of this incredible Petra adventure is none other than the climb to Ad-Deir (the Monastery). For an adventurous ride, one can take the donkey up to the Monastery. Great for those that are not fit to hike (it is approximately 1 hour to climb), but it is definitely not for the faint at heart as well. The journey through the fascinating As-Siq and seeing the beautiful Al-Khazneh (The Treasury) emerge from the towering cliffs, as well as the amazing Nabatean Tombs were all equally enchanting and mind blowing, but for me the climb to the Monastery tops it all. It was the whole experience in itself that truly awed me. The hike going up the rose-red mountain, the gorgeous rock formations, the grand views from up there, the Bedouins we saw along the way, the donkeys, the children.... ah, it was for me truly an incredible and extraordinary experience that I will never forget. The Monastery is a flight of more than 800 steps that were cut out of the mount...

It’s now past 12:00 and although there were only a few people in the restaurant we knew that in an hour’s time it will be hectic here so it’s all good that we are early, we can eat in peace while enjoying the beautiful landscape scenery around us =) We chose the Basin Restaurant mainly because of its location and the ambiance. We have a table nicely situated in the terrace and a magnificent view of the surroundings, of rose-red cliffs and tombs far ahead in the distance but visible enough to enjoy. What more can we ask for? Our view during lunch from our table. Arabic translation of Coca-Cola. Need to have my green salad and this biscotti was quite good. Oh yeah I ate all these and everything on the table that I skipped dinner, well, we both skipped dinner. Arabic flat bread, humus, falafel and the biscotti again. Tiny servings of desserts. Blondine loved their Baklava. The outer part of the terrace. We did not sit here because we did not like eating in front of the Bed...