Our Petra birding and historical extension includes a full day’s exploration of this almost unbelievable primordial city, as well as visits to some of Jordan’s top birdwatching sites. Petra is certainly one of the world’s most remarkable antiquities and is regarded as the most astounding ancient city left to the modern world. This capital of the Nabataeans housed an estimated 30,000 people in its prime and was manually hewn from the blood-red cliffs of the Sharrah Mountains. Several earthquakes and the rerouting of existent trade routes sidelined Petra until it was finally abandoned and remained forgotten for centuries, until its dramatic rediscovery in the early 19th century. Petra is set within a 20,000ha National Park, and some special birds may also be seen during our short extension here. These include Sooty Falcon, Sand Partridge, Mourning Wheatear, Scrub Warbler, Palestine Sunbird, Rock Sparrow, Sinai Rosefinch, Syrian Serin and House Bunting. In addition, this region is situated within a strong raptor migration route, so we can expect to see good numbers of these passage migrants as they soar overhead. All in all, this is without doubt the most “must-see” site in the entire Middle East!