Destination Petra, Jordan

All I could see in front of me were hundreds of flickering candles. I could just about make out the outline of the rocks on either side of the narrow gorge, the Siq. It was eerie. I felt as if I had been catapulted back in time thousands of years.

At any minute, I expected some of the inhabitants of this ancient city to appear from out of the sandstone. I carried on walking in the still of the night until I heard the haunting sounds of Bedouin music coming from the distance. Then I saw it, bathed in candlelight, Petra's iconic El Khazneh.

This was my introduction to Petra, one of the wonders of the world. The reason I had come to Jordan.

Petra by night

Having seen all of the other new wonders I did not expect to be overwhelmed by Petra but I was. The Petra by night tour has to be one of my life’s special moments.

The "rose-red city half as old as time", is how the poet John William Burgon described it. But it is not really “rose red”; it is an astounding array of colours.

The city of Petra was carved out of rock by the Nabataean civilisation over 2,000 years ago. Astonishingly it was lost to the western world until 1812 when it was rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It is now a Unesco World Heritage Site described as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's heritage."

Al-Khazneh

Like me, most tourists enter the city through the Siq, which is more than half a mile long and has 260ft cliffs either side. As you reach the end you will catch your first glimpse of Al-Khazneh (the Treasury). Its façade, 100ft wide and almost 150ft high takes your breath away.

Petra also has hundreds of elaborate rock-cut tombs and a massive Nabataean-built, Roman-style theatre, which could seat 3,000 people. There are obelisks, temples, sacrificial altars and colonnaded streets, and overlooking the valley, is the Ad-Deir monastery, you will have to tackle 800 rock cut steps to get there.

I climbed up to the High Place of Sacrifice. That's not easy if you are short, as I am. There were some particularly hairy moments when my foot couldn't reach the next step. However, thanks to Jeremy, who guided me over the rough bits, I survived. It was worth it as not only did we pass more tombs and temple facades, we were rewarded with spectacular views of the whole of Petra.

Petra by day

As Petra is extremely dusty, I was glad that I had put on my old, comfortable shoes. During the day, if you don’t like walking, take a taxi. There are plenty of donkeys or camels waiting eagerly to transport you to the main attractions.

After one more look at the salmon-coloured El Khazneh, I returned to my hotel, the Mövenpick Resort Petra, to have a hot bath and revive my aching muscles.

Later that evening, my friends and I were soaking up the atmosphere at the hotel’s Al Ghadeer Roof Garden, enjoying a glass of wine and passing around a hubbly-bubbly (a traditional water pipe used to smoke fruit-flavoured tobacco) when a group of people appeared and started dancing to the music.

To our ears it sounded as if the musicians were playing the same tune over and over again but the sounds of the Arabic music had these people on their feet. Even the waiters joined in. We felt we were at a wedding.

I asked one of the revellers what nationality they were. "Israeli," said Simon. "We like Jordan, the people are warm and friendly, the food is delicious and the culture is similar to ours." Maybe, that is Jordan’s other wonder of the world – the place where Jews and Muslims can party together.

Earlier, walking down a street, a man had stopped and asked us where we were from? "London," retorted Jeremy. "Welcome to our country," said the man. Simon was right, the people are lovely. I went to Jordan to tick a box, I didn’t expect to be captivated by her charm and leave wanting more.

By Daralyn Danns

Getting there

Royal Jordanian Airlines (www.rj.com)

Mövenpick Resort Petra Hotel(www.moevenpickhotels.com)