I’m just back from a whirlwind tour of Israel, a trip my husband and I planned to coincide with our nephew’s Bar Mitzvah. Besides the rites of passage, we toured the Golan Heights, took a dip in the dead sea (and a wrap in the smelly, sulfur-scented mud) and explored the tunnels below Jerusalem.

Dead Sea mud is supposed to be excellent for the complexion.

It was an amazing trip, but the highlight was a visit to one of the world’s ancient wonders- Petra. We’ve all got stone on the brain with Coverings coming up next week,  but it’s not just the timing that makes the Petra stand out for me.

We arranged a day trip from Eilat, the “Las Vegas of Israel,” which is located on the Red Sea just minutes from the Jordanian border.

Early to bed to prepare for our big day.

A jeep picked us up at the crack of dawn and whisked us off to the border where we moseyed over to Jordan. Friendly armed guards greeted us as we climbed into our bus for a two-hour drive across the desert.

Since my husband's passport picture is terrifying, we got to answer a lot of questions.

The trek through Petra is a long one, so the local Bedouins, being savvy businessmen, offer camel, horse and donkey rides.

This camel only looks cute.

The  horse-drawn carts were rickety, and the camels seemed angry, so we walked the 3-mile path at a leisurely pace.

I'm covered in a thin film of red dust and sunscreen.

After about 45 minutes, we reached a narrow crevasse, and in the bright sunlight seeping through, we got our first glimpse of the Treasury.

The Treasury is more than 40 meters high, and was carved out of the cliff from the top down.

Petra is magnificent for so many reasons- the sheer size of the buildings…

Look at the teeny tiny people!

the intense, swirling colors of the sandstone and limestone the city is carved from…

Everywhere you look, there's rosy pink stone streaked with purple, red and blue.

and the incredible sense of history that surrounds you. Petra was built by the Nabateans around 6th Century BC and rediscovered by archaeologists in the late 1800s, and is still slowly revealing its secrets today.

This massive ancient ampitheater is carved into the hillside.

And of course, movie buffs will love the chance to walk in Indiana Jones’ shoes.

There may be some licensing issues here.