We had seen it in numerous photos and on the small and big screen, but still nothing quite prepares you. As you emerge from the kilometre or so walk through the Siq (a natural fault through the mountain which is the only entrance to Petra) the sight of the jewel in Petra's crown, the Treasury, is quite simply breathtaking.
OK, so the place is teeming with tourists and locals selling camel and donkey rides, but it is still humbling to take a moment and appreciate what the Nabateans achieved two thousand odd years ago.
Even Olivia was ecstatic - it was a dream come true, she said, to be where Indiana Jones had been before. Both she and Isabelle were somewhat disappointed to discover that the interior of the Treasury was simply a rock room and not the Temple of Doom they had been expecting.
Still , they were cheered by the promise of a donkey ride up to the Deir, or Monastery. The guidebook promised spectacular views of the Royal Tombs and of the gorges below. I didn't tell Ian about the zillion steps up the original Nabatean staircase to get there.
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Our resident donkey trader, Fahad (who has been selling donkey rides for the last 5 years and is only 15) set off up the steps with the girls' donkeys at a good trot and with the agility of a mountain goat. Terrified the girls might fall off, I raced to keep up and by the time we reached the summit felt like I'd done a week's worth of workouts on the stairmaster.
And as we rounded the last bend and the Deir came into view it was, well, just like the Treasury - I didn't tell Ian that bit in advance either. But the views were spectacular.
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