Two Wonders of the World, Petra in Jordan to the Pyramids in Egypt.

One of my life-long dreams has always been to visit all of the New 7 Wonders of the World! I have already been lucky enough to visit 3 of them, The Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu in Peru and The Colosseum in Italy.

I felt it was time to visit another Wonder and Petra in Jordan had always been high on my list! I thought that as I was in that part of the world, I would also take a short journey over to Egypt to see another Wonder from the Ancient World, The Great Pyramid of Giza too. Two Wonders in one Trip!

I had been to Egypt before back in 2013 but stayed in Sharm El-Sheikh along the North East coast, it was a great spot for snorkelling in the Red Sea, but during this time I did not travel the extra hour to see the Pyramids, so this was my opportunity to finally see this iconic Wonder.

Before the trip I was aware that there was a lot of tension building between the US, Israel and Iran, and Jordan just happened to be smack bang in the middle of these countries. I was confident that nothing would come of it, how wrong could I be…

Day 1 >> Reaching Amman

My flight from Gatwick to the Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan flew via Istanbul in Turkey and the total flight time from the UK to Jordan was 6 hours, which was not bad at all. I hadn’t really organised my flight times properly when booking, so I actually landed in Amman at 04:40am! After a 30min taxi ride, I arrived at my first Hotel the Mena Tyche Hotel Amman.

Day 2 >> Citadel & Roman Theatre

Day 2 I planned to Visit the Citadel and Roman Theatre right in the heart of Jordan’s Capital Amman. The Amman Citadel is one of the oldest inhabited sites in the world, located on a hilltop overlooking Amman and home to ancient Roman ruins including the Temple of Hercules. It really was such an amazing location surrounded by the city and looking down onto the Roman Theatre that was just a short walk.

The Roman Theatre is a large ancient amphitheatre built during the Roman period in the 2nd century AD. Carved into a hillside in downtown Amman, it could hold around 6,000 spectators and remains one of the city’s most recognisable historic landmarks.

Day 3 >> The Blue Mosque

I had the morning of Day 3 on my own before meeting the group I was due to be travelling around Jordan with, so I decided to visit the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque is also known as the King Abdullah I Mosque, and is one of Amman’s most well-known landmarks, recognised for its large blue mosaic dome and modern Islamic architecture. Built in the 1980s, the mosque can accommodate thousands of worshippers and is open to visitors outside of prayer times.

Day 4 – Morning >> Jerash

After having met my travel group and having a lovely authentic meal the night before, we were well rested and up ready to head North to pay both Jerash and the Dead Sea a visit! It was about an hour’s drive to Jerash from Amman our first stop.

We arrived at the stunning ancient city of Jerash which is one of the best-preserved Roman archaeological sites in the world, featuring colonnaded streets, temples, theatres and plazas dating back over 2,000 years. Walking through the vast number of ruins still visible gave me a real sense of the scale and layout of a Roman city at its peak.

After a morning in Jerash, we were then heading south down to the famous Dead Sea! During this trip and on 28th Feb 2026, we learned whilst on the minibus that a War had just started between the US, Israel and Iran, this was definitely not ideal..

Day 4 – Afternoon >> Dead Sea

We arrived at a very surreal Hotel on the shores of the Dead Sea, directly opposite the border to Israel. As the Dead Sea had been receding over the past few decades, it was like a ghost town. There were hundreds of half built hotels and cafes that were now quite far from the water’s edge and the tourism had quite literally dried up in this area.

The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, located more than 400 metres below sea level. It’s extremely high salt content makes it easy to float on the surface, while the mineral-rich waters and mud are known for their therapeutic properties.

This was probably the most memorable part of the entire trip for 2 reasons. The first being that it really is true, you can’t sink! So we were bobbing around on top of the water all the while we could hear and feel the vibrations travelling over the Dead Sea from Isreal that were being bombed by Iran at that exact time.

As mentioned at the start of this blog article, there was already some tension between the US, Israel and Iran before I left for this trip, but in no way did I believe anything would come of it. Then on Saturday 28th February 2026 it happened, both the US and Israel bombed Iran.

It was surreal actually being right in the middle of the War in Jordan at that point in time. From the moment it started, we heard constant air raid sirens in every town and city we passed, during the day and night. The disconcerting sound of the air raid sirens when they were in short bursts for a minute or so, meant incoming missiles! Then 3 longer blasts that lasted for 5 seconds each meant it was all clear again.

Our Tour Guide on the trip was extremely good at putting our minds to rest and also actually gave the group an option to stop the tour altogether, however very early on all airlines and airspace was cancelled over Jordan, so there would have been no point in just stopping the tour only to travel back to the city and wait it out. It just would have been no safer than being on the move around Jordan.

The photo to the right/below, shows anti-drone rockets launched from nearby, but we were constantly under pairs of Fighter Jets protecting the region or plumes of smoke from drones being shot down or anti-drone systems.

I did actually feel very sorry for the Jordanians, as I managed to speak with many local people in the Towns and Cities I travelled through and they all said that their country was surrounded by people that absolutely hated each other, and they just happened to be in the way.

Day 5 & 6 >> Petra

After an evening dining out in the heart of the capital Amman, we headed for what was going to be the highlight of the trip ‘Petra‘, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World!

Before arriving at Petra on Day 5, we also had time to stop at Mount Nebo, a historic hilltop site in Jordan believed to be where Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death. We also managed to stop off at and walk around Karak Castle, which is a large 12th-century Crusader fortress known for its strategic hilltop position and extensive underground passageways.

After reaching the Seven Wonders Hotel, we dropped our bags and headed straight for our ‘Petra at Night’ Experience! From the Petra entrance, it was then a 1.2km hike through the narrow sandstone gorge, with towering cliffs on either side to reach the iconic ‘Treasury’ with its elaborate rock-cut tombs. The Evening show was just stunning! It was projected onto the Treasury Wonder itself and had authentic music as well as historic animations of Petra and the people that made it.

Day 6 was probably my favourite day, as we had a full day Hiking around the Petra Wonder. I hadn’t realised it was so big! I hiked over 20km in the blazing heat; to navigate incredible rick carvings, historic theatres carved in the rock faces and tombs as high as the eye could see. This World Wonder did not disappoint!

Day 7 >> 4×4 Experience & Camping

It was only about a few hours’ drive from Petra to the edge of Wadi Rum Desert where we disembarked from our minibus to board two 4×4 trucks to take us on our Desert Experience!

These 4×4 were adapted to allow us all to sit on the back surrounded by a cage, however there was also room on the roof of the cab to sit on top too.

We had a half-day’s Desert Experience driving up and down Dunes at speed which was such great fun! We stopped at a variety of ‘Mars like’ rock formations and the landscape was just hard to believe. In fact the rugged landscape is so surreal there have been a plethora or Hollywood Movies using the Wadi Rum Desert to film, here are just a few:

1. Dune (2021)
2. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
3. Aladdin (2019)
4. Rogue One: a Star Wars Story (2016)
5. The Martian (2015)
6. Theeb (2014)
7. Prometheus (2012)
8. Mission to Mars (2000)
9. Red Planet (2000)
10. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

After a fantastic day driving around the Wadi Rum Desert, we ended up at our camp for the night in the middle of nowhere! We were staying in basic, but beautifully decorated wooden huts that sat at the foot of an enormous sandstone cliff that loomed over us, but also gave protection from wind and sandstorms.

This was such a memorable evening, as we sat around a campfire all evening, chatting, telling stories and cooking marshmallows. As the evening drew in, the temperature dropped significantly to the low single digits that night.

Day 8 >> The Read Sea & Aqaba

After a comfortable, but extremely cold night in the wooden huts, we had a traditional Jordanian breakfast before heading to the most Southerly point of our trip – Aqaba on the shores of the Red Sea.

On Day 8 we had an optional activity to board a boat and sail on the Red Sea with some Scuba Diving as well. I’m not a huge fan of half-day excursions on boats but thought I’d go for it and had no expectations on this at all, but it turned out to be an amazing day!

We drove 30 mins from our hotel called ‘My Luxury Hotel Aqaba’, to a stunning harbour with clear blue water and several boats moored up.

We walked down the docks and walked past 3 or 4 smaller wooden boats that I thought were going to be ours, to find we were boarding a huge luxurious yacht lined with gold trim, leather sofas within a bar and lounge area, it was like living like a millionaire for a day!

We spent the day sailing around the Red Sea, I even got to steer the huge vessel out of the harbour and into open water which was such a great experience. We sailed on to 3 different snorkelling spots, the water was warm and the sheer variety and number of fish was just jaw dropping.

It had now been 5 days since the War had started and things were worsening with every day. All airspace above us had now been closed and we were hearing air raid sirens every few hours. The group I was travelling with were all heading off to a variety of countries after Jordan, which made it very complicated (and costly) for us all to arrange transport out of the country, however a number of the group decided to use Aqaba as the port to exit the country over the Red Sea to Egypt. We had bonded like family over such a short space of time, so it was sad to see half of the group part ways at this destination 🙁

Day 11 >> The Pyramids from Outside

After leaving Jordan late in the evening, the flight was only 1.5hrs, but meant I arrived in Cairo, Egypt around midnight. After arriving in Cairo, I took a 30min taxi journey to my Hotel, The Sequoia Pyramids View.

Cairo was just an absolute sensory overload. Even at the dead of night, there were thousands of vehicles pumping out fumes, animals roaming the city, rubbish lined the streets, many sellers trying to stop you and persuade you to buy something, it really was just absolute chaos. Even compared to many busy cities around the world I had been to, this really did take the crown for the most hectic.

Having said this the Hotel view when I arrived was something I’ll never forget. I arrived and headed to the top floor in the early hours of the morning to be greeted by the most amazing close-up view of the Pyramids lit up.

Day 12 >> The Pyramids from Above

I promised myself that if I was ever lucky enough to see the Pyramids in person, I would want to explore them from outside, above and inside in one trip. Day 12 was my opportunity to see the Pyramids from above and I was just so excited at the prospect of taking a Microlight over them!

I had pre-booked a 15min Flight with a company called Wonder Wing. They don’t have a website, but you can book them through Get Your Guide.

Arriving within the grounds of the Pyramids in the morning, gave me a chance to be briefed before taking to the skies in a Microlight! My 15min flight over the Pyramids and seeing them from the air, was an unforgettable experience, the flight also offered incredible views of The Grand Egyptian Museum and the surrounding landscape as well.

After the exhilarating flight, i took a taxi directly to The Grand Egyptian Museum, for a half-day in the largest museum in the World. This museum was mind blowing and was easily the highlight of my trip to Egypt.

Day 13 >> The Pyramids from Inside

I booked a Guided Tour of the Pyramids from the outside that also included access to actually get inside main Khufu Pyramid. The tour was a solo tour, so I had a really lovely Egyptian Lady that guided ma around the entire Pyramid estate as well as the Sphinx.

The Guided Tour peaked when I got to climb up the immensely claustrophobic and stiflingly warm passages inside the main Khufu Pyramid to reach the sarcophagus at the centre. It was truly a great moment to reach this and an experience I’ll never forget.

Day 14 >> Cairo to UK

My trip in Egypt had come to an end and my flight left on Day 14 at 04:40am homeward bound to the UK. I have to say the fact I had pre-planned my trip to Cairo before leaving for the Jordan trip, had actually allowed me to navigate my way out of a war zone without too much difficulty in the end, which was very lucky.

I have to be honest and say that this trip was not originally top of my list. I have never been too keen on the thought of travelling to the Middle East or Africa, however, (war aside), I was really pleased with how the trip turned out and even more so that I managed to escape the war zone without needing to rebook any flights or accommodation.

I was a little nervous going into the trip for starts due to the tension building around the area, but as I mentioned earlier in my article, I just thought this would blow over. Little was I to know that 4 days in, things would literally blow-up :-/

My thoughts on Jordan, was that the people were extremely hospitable, everywhere I went, they were proud of their culture and were passionate about the part they played in the community. As with many of the parts of the Middle East, the religion was paramount to them and I happened to be visiting right in the middle of Ramadan, so I had to be mindful of our behaviour as well as our eating habits during this period.

The main reason I was drawn to Jordan was Petra, and this iconic landmark did not disappoint. I had always thought that it was just one large structure cut out of the sandstone, which I now know not to be true. The iconic picture synonymous with Petra, named the Treasury, is just one of hundreds of carvings, structures and tombs scattered over 100 square miles!!

The days hike around Petra was just jaw-dropping, I hiked 20km in the blazing sun and did not even touch the surface of hikes in and around the Petra wonder.

The second part to my trip just had to be The Great Pyramids of Giza as I was so close to them. Ironically this proved to be a great decision and helped me navigate my way out of the War Zone! The Pyramids were just amazing, however now I have seen them, I do not think I would go back to Cairo, it was just too chaotic for me.

All in all, I would say this was a solid 7/10 trip for me, it was a hell of an adventure and what a time to be travelling in that region too, but I thankfully lived to tell the tale.

My Australian East Coast Experience, Rainforest to Reef

Travelling the infamous ‘Route 1’ Ring Road around Iceland

Costa Rica’s Exotic Landscapes & High-Adrenaline Adventures