*Hums Indiana Jones theme* I was so looking forward to seeing the entrance to the cave to the holy grail! Imagine when I found out that it was all fake - Hollywood you got me again!! Honestly I didn't but I also didn't know that the treasury was off limits and didn't even go far or had anything special inside. The wall is still highly impressive after what was an amazing walk through the canyon, excited to reach it at any moment. The water flow system in the canyon is ingenious. The souvenir stands didn't even offer any Indiana Jones dress up anymore - I guess that time has gone - you can still buy a camel magnet though! Great!

I also should have ditched the tour guide. He kept telling the group to stick with him and called people leaving back to the group. The American college girls were right to go for the camel ride straight away and get away from us. The main reason was that with the limited time on this 24h tour from Egypt you only spend a couple hours at Petra; enough to see the main highlights but a little rushed (could have skipped the 1h shopping oops I mean bathroom break). Nobody from the group went up the hill to the additional rock caverns, although I find it impressive enough from the bottom. A masterpiece of design with the rock outcrops, the ruined city is still a wonder and the location was picked for a good reason. Defenses, water supply, caves to keep cool, plus you get Harrison Ford to come by and shoot a movie!

Yes, by now you figured the picture is actually from the Legoland in Dubai ;) I visited Petra in 2016 but I doubt much has changed since then. Way too many peddlers, camel riders annoy you, hot, dusty… but that didn't sour my experience in any way. A must see.