Any visitor to Israel’s Eilat is lucky to be a mere 5 hours away from Jordan’s biggest tourist attraction; a pilgrimage to Petra makes the perfect day of history and desert wilderness, for anyone traveling nearby. An ancient city like Petra, no matter how famous and “on the map” now, is still a rare gem: it’s a privilege to get a glimpse of another civilisation that was lost in time - an out of reach, explorers-only discovery that has since been transformed into a beautifully run World Heritage Site.

I knew the architecture of Petra was massive, grand and rare because of its age and unusual status of being carved right into rock. What I didn’t expect was the staggering topography of the dunes, valleys, granite and mountains of the surrounding Wadi Rum desert en route. These wind- whipped, geological sculptures are a living attraction, as are the everyday Bedouins you meet on the road, who add the pulse to this trip back in time. 

The only thing I’d do differently is switch the Israeli stopover from coastal resort town, Eilat to the less commercial, more interesting Jordanian port, Aqaba over the border. The contrast of Red Sea and desertscapes, the stillness of old ruins and the liveliness of contemporary Arab hospitality sums up everything that I loved about this region…