A 24-Hour Bus to Petra

I have wanted to see Petra since I was a kid, after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The way to do it from Sharm El-Sheikh was a 24-hour bus across the Sinai. That is a long sit. I still think it was the right call.

Sharm to the border

We left early. The bus ran through the Sinai: rocky hills, a lot of sand, and now and then a strip of Red Sea. Crossing into Jordan meant several border checks. By the time we were through, I was tired, and Petra was still the only thing I was thinking about.

The Siq and the Treasury

Petra is called the Rose City for the sandstone. You reach the Treasury through the Siq, a long, narrow gorge that opens suddenly onto the façade. I had seen the photos. Standing in front of it is different. The carvings go a long way up, and the rock color shifts as the light does.

The Nabataeans cut this city more than 2,000 years ago. A lot of it is still there.

The rest of the city

Beyond the Treasury, Petra spreads into tombs, temples, and caves cut into the cliffs. I hiked up to the Monastery, a similar façade on a bigger scale. The climb is steep. From the top you look out over desert and mountains, which is the view that made the stairs worth it.

The city is in better condition than I expected for something that sat lost for centuries. You walk around and the stone still reads as rooms and streets, not rubble.

The bus back

After hours on site, the same 24-hour ride was waiting. I slept in pieces and replayed the Treasury and the Monastery. Petra is on the New Seven Wonders list. I went because of a film I watched as a child, and because a bus from Sharm made it possible. That was enough.