I have a confession to make. A year ago, everything I knew about Petra I had learned from Indiana Jones. I had visions of a narrow Siq and enclosed spaces. Those do exist, but there is more – so much more. The scale, and beauty, of Petra are stunning.

The Treasury is the most well known monument in Petra, but in some ways I think the Monastery is even more impressive. Especially if you make the effort to continue climbing past it, and view it from above.

This can be challenging. After a long hike to get to the base of the mountain, you are facing over 800 steps up to the Monastery. Donkeys are available to take you to the top, but you risk “traffic jams” like this one.

When you make it to the Monastery all you want to do is rest. It takes a lot of will power to muster the energy to continue higher. But if you do, you will be treated to views like this.

Of course, when I say the Monastery is best viewed from above, some people take this literally. I spotted someone climbing to the top of the monument. Apparently he decided it would be a cool place to have a smoke. I suspect the view was impressive as well, though I wasn’t tempted to check.