Someone's gotta keep those tourists in line!

Some of the “ugly Americans” were so rowdy that a police force was created to deal with them.

(93) - Jerry

So how many did you arrest today, Ahmed?
Six…for buying too many shiny camel souvenirs.

(87) - Pat

In November and December of 2012, Jerry and I were on a tour of Israel and Jordan. Petra, where this week's Succinctly Yours photo was taken, is one of the more amazing of the Jordan National Parks. The Tourist Police are actually there to protect tourists because tourism is the main source of income in Jordan.

Here are some pix from Petra. All of the following photos were taken by Laura and/or Mark Bunger, members of our tour group. I somehow accidentally deleted all 163 of my photos of Petra, so Laura gave me permission to use hers.

"Pliny the Elder and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans, and the center of their caravan trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf." - Wikipedia

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed in Petra, Jordan. There was even a tourist shop at the start of the siq (canyon) of Petra touting Indiana Jones stuff like copies of the hat he wore in those films.



Grandma's Goulash is hosting a microfiction meme called "Succinctly Yours," where you can write either a 140-character or 140-word micro-story based on the photo she posts and/or the word of the day, so you have plenty of room to be creative! Join the fun at Grandma's Goulash.