Arabian Andersons: PETRA

“Well you don't know what we could find, Why don't you come with me little girl, On a magic carpet ride” – Steppenwolf

I’ve had several people ask for more info and photos about our recent trip. So, Here is Part #1 of the trilogy:

"Lucky” Anniversary

Yvonne and I celebrated our last anniversary a bit later than normal because I had more of a break between semesters. It is a bit of an adjustment to realize that you don’t get a Christmas break when you are working in a Muslim country.
Anyway, because it was our "Lucky" Anniversary (at least I think that is the term)... 11 years on the 11th of Dec, I wanted to do something fun. I've been telling Yvonne for the last 10 years that she is pretty lucky because I have taken her to Hawaii every year for our anniversary. That was going to be hard to beat, but a few weeks beforehand, I surprised her with the news that I had arranged a trip for the two of us to Jordan and Jerusalem. My folks were just finishing up their mission in Prague and I had contacted them to see if they wanted to join us for a trip to the Holy Land on their way home. They responded with: "it sounds like fun, but we would rather not. Instead, we would love to come to Dubai and babysit the kids while you and Yvonne go by yourselves." Well, I didn't argue with that too much.
We spent an amazing day exploring PETRA. Now, I wouldn’t say that I’m much of a world traveler, but I have been a few cool places like Zion’s National Park, The Great Pyramids in Egypt, Teotihuacan Ruins outside Mexico City, The Alhambra in Spain, Mt. McKinley in Alaska, Volcanoes National Park, and others …. Let me just say that Petra is cool enough to compete with anywhere.
Cameras (at least when I’m behind the lens) never do places like this justice, but here are a few pics anyway: