One of the on-shore excursions during our Red Sea cruise was to Petra, the famous stone city in Jordan. It really is a sight to be seen.

If you have ever seen "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", you'll remember the huge "temple" carved into stone in which the climax of the film takes place. In fact that building, al-Khazneh (the Treasury), is just one of many buildings in this astonishing ancient city. The sheer scale of the place, both in terms of natural beauty and man-made ingenuity is amazing. It leads one to run out of superlatives.

It is thought that the city was devised by the ancient Nabataean civilization. The site was discovered by Europeans in the early 19th century. Our guide told us that Bedouin tribes still lived in the caves there up until quite recently, when the Jordanian government "persuaded" them to move out. A lot of them now work selling souvenirs, selling camel rides and so-forth there.

It recently made the so-called "New Seven Wonders of the World." The merits (or otherwise) of that dubious initiative not withstanding, the place surely deserves the title. You are highly recommended to check this place out.