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Destinations
Rock city
By Suwitcha Chaiyong
DJ Un falls for Petra
When 33-year-old Puwanart Kunpalin (DJ Un) saw the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, he was stunned by the dazzling architecture of Petra, used as a location in the film.
DJ Un assumed at the time that it was a movie set, but he later found out that Petra was in fact a real ancient city in Jordan.
Since then, Petra has been DJ Un's dream destination. When he was recently asked to join an eight-day trip to Jordan and Turkey, arranged by Green Wave radio, DJ Un jumped at the chance.
• Did you know • |
 Petra was first introduced to the Western world in 1812 by a Swiss explorer. |
"I've travelled a lot through Europe and the US, so I didn't care much about going overseas anymore," DJ Un said. "But when I heard about going to Petra, I was so excited that I felt like I was travelling abroad for the first time!"
CITY OF STONE
Nestled among spectacular mountains and canyons, Petra is an amazing ancient city full of buildings carved into rock faces. DJ Un was overwhelmed when he first laid eyes on Petra, which is recognised as one of the new seven wonders of the world.
"I had tears in my eyes when I first saw Petra," he said. "It used to be a large city with a giant hall, a sports field and residential areas."
SALTY SEA
After Petra, the highlight of DJ Un's trip was a visit to the Dead Sea. The shores of the Dead Sea are the lowest point on Earth on dry land, and the water is known for having very high levels of salt.
"Because it's the lowest point on Earth, the atmospheric pressure there is very high," he said. "My water bottle was flattened by the air pressure."
DJ Un was amazed by the water quality in the Dead Sea.
"The water was so clear, and the mud on the floor of the lake was soft and smooth like powder," DJ Un said. "But the guide warned us to protect our eyes from the water because of the high levels of salinity."
DJ Un spend almost two hours relaxing and floating in the Dead Sea.
"The guide told us not to spend more than 15 minutes in the water because of the salt," DJ Un said. "Some people felt a burning sensation from the salt, but I stayed in the sea for almost two hours because I wanted to make the most of it."
COOL CONTRAST
Aside from being blown away by Petra and the Dead Sea, DJ Un was impressed with the contrasting styles of architecture in Turkey.
"The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul was built with marble in a European style, but inside it's decorated with Islamic art," he said. "I also saw a mosque decorated with a Christian cross and Christian churches with Muslim art, which is something I'd never seen before."
GOING BACK
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DJ Un had a great time during his trip. He hopes to go back and spend more time in Jordan and Turkey.
"I'd like to see Pamukkale in Turkey, he said. "It's a spa village with huge layers of limestone - it's so unusual that it looks like a landscape from outer space."
DJ Un would also like to visit Petra again.
"When we left Petra, I kept looking back because I didn't want it disappear from my sight," he said. "I think that I might have lived in Petra in a past life!"
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dazzling (adj): so impressive that it may prevent you from understanding or thinking clearly overwhelm (v): to have such a strong emotional effect on somebody that it is difficult for them to resist or know how to react salinity (n): a mixture of salt in water sensation (n): a feeling that you get when something affects your body mosque (n): a building in which Muslims worship |
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IDIOMS
lay eyes on something: to see something
make the most of something: to gain as much advantage, enjoyment, etc. as you can from something