We are currently on our Royal Jordanian Air Flight to Amman Jordan and leaving behind the dust and dirt of Cairo. Security at the Cairo Airport fit in the common sense category. Airport Security profiled and didn’t intentionally hassle the majority of travelers, and we didn’t have to take off our shoes or take our computers out of the bag. Nine of our group left us this morning to go home and eight of us have taken the extension and are continuing on to Amman Jordan and Petra which is one of the new eight wonders of the world. This Royal Jordanian flight is sure different then the last flight we took from Abu Simbel to Cairo in Egypt. The airplane is an almost new Embraer 175 with leather seats and is spotless. It is only a 1 and a half hour flight and they served a meat and cheese sandwich, muffin and drink in coach, when was the last time you saw that on a US flight in coach or even first class?

We have safely arrived in Amman and drove to Petra after stopping at a Crusader Castle built in 1099. The Castle is still in excellent condition located on top of a mountain making it easily defendable and what a view. We then checked into our hotel in Petra which is a new 5 star built into the side of a mountain and spread out like a small city. This is one of the most unique hotels we have ever stayed in. I wish we could stay longer but tonight we are moving to a hotel located on the Dead Sea. Today we are riding horses into the ruins at Petra just like Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusaders.