Jordan

For our four day Easter break, Tim and I decided to go to Jordan!  It was a very easy hour-and-a-half flight away, and there were sights there that we were really eager to see.  Thankfully, we had a driver for the whole time, so it was a really stress-free trip, and it was easy to relax and enjoy the sights!

We started out our trip by visiting Jerash, an ancient Roman city, and it was such a pleasant surprise!  I had not expected to see such beautiful and well-preserved Roman ruins!  Even after seeing the ruins in Rome, we were very impressed.

I LOVE these old theatres!

Next, we traveled to Petra, the rose-colored city made famous by Indiana Jones!  It was simply AMAZING!  The Nabateans were geniuses to be able to carve buildings into stone like they did.  One of our tour guides said, "The Greeks and Romans built, but the Nabateans carved."  Walking through the city of carved buildings and tombs was like walking through history.  We had two days in Petra, and on our second day, we hiked all over the place and found lots of hidden gems that were off the beaten path.  Nothing in the world could compare to Petra!

Us in front of the Treasury, the most famous spot in Petra.

The natural coloring in the stone was beautiful!

Us in front of the Monastery!  It was quite a hike to get up here, but well worth it!

On the third day of our trip, we went to the Dead Sea.  We stayed at a really nice hotel with several pools and a beachfront on the Sea.  We even covered ourselves in mud and then took a dip (since it's supposed to be really good for your skin).  And you really do float in the Dead Sea!  I didn't believe that it would feel that strange, but it did!  That 33% salinity really keeps you afloat!  Thankfully, we had gorgeously warm weather on the two days we were there, so we soaked up as much time as we could in the pools and in the Sea.

On the last day of our trip, we visited the Citadel in Amman.  Seeing ruins of ancient places still amazes me every time.  I love seeing the small glimpses of how people lived and the things that they created so long ago.

These are the fingers from what was once a HUGE statue.  No one knows what it was a statue of, so it's left up to our imaginations!  

Huge amphitheater!

So, although it was a short trip to Jordan, we felt like we got to see a lot, and still relax at the same time.  We left feeling refreshed, educated, inspired, and, as always-- thankful.