The Rose City of Petra

Missy - the horse whisperer!
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The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan echoes with the stories recorded in the Holy Bible - of Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ and John the Baptist - whose teachings have ultimately affected the lives of millions of people around the world.

And yet, until a few months ago, I had never even heard of the city of Petra. During the time of Jesus and the Apostles, Petra was the leading trading centre of the Mediterranean. It was in Wadi Musa (the valley of Moses) the city just outside Petra, that Moses struck the rock and brought forth water.

The Siq twists and turns, the high walls all but shutting out the early morning sunlight, until abruptly, through a cleft in the rock, the first glimpse of the city of Petra can be seen.

The twisting and turning Siq
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This morning, we set out to explore this forgotten, lost and and now rediscovered city of Petra. Our journey started at Petra's city gate where we first mounted horses that led us into the historic site or, as it is called the Siq of Petra.

Petra was first established sometime around the 6th century BC, by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and laid the foundations of a commercial empire that extended into Syria. Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to bring Petra under the control of their respective empires, Petra remained largely in Nabataean hands until around 100AD, when the Romans took over.

The first view of the Khazineh (the Treasury)
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From the official entrance to the site, a dusty trail leads gently downwards along the Wadi Musa (The Valley of Moses). Situated in small rock outcrops to the left and right of the path are some small Nabataean tombs, carved into the dry rock. Beyond these, walls of sandstone rise steeply on the left, and a narrow cleft reveals the entrance to the Siq, the principal route into Petra itself.

The Nabataeans were expert hydraulic engineers. The walls of the Siq are lined with channels (originally fitted with chamfered clay pipes of efficient design) to carry drinking water to the city, while a dam to the right of the entrance diverted an adjoining stream through a tunnel to prevent it flooding the Siq.

The still standing Khazineh - such a marvel!
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Once inside, the Siq narrows to little more than five metres in width, while the walls tower up hundreds of metres on either side. The floor, originally paved, is now largely covered with soft sand, although evidence of Nabataean construction can still be seen in some places.

The Siq twists and turns, the high walls all but shutting out the early morning sunlight, until abruptly, through a cleft in the rock, the first glimpse of the city of Petra can be seen. Carved out of pale reddish sandstone, ornate pillars supporting a portico surmounted by a central urn and two flanking blocks, jut out from the cliff face ahead. This is the Khazneh or the Treasury.

Tombs and other monuments - all carved into the mountains
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The best-known of the monuments at Petra, the Khazneh is also the first to greet the visitor arriving via the Siq. The facade, carved out from the sandstone cliff wall, is 40m high, and is remarkably well-preserved, probably because the confined space in which it was built has protected it somewhat from the effects of erosion. The name Khazneh, which means 'treasury' comes from the legend that it was used as a hiding place for treasure. In practice, it seems to have been something between a temple and a tomb, possibly both at once.

Camel Ride to the Amphitheatre
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Missy and I now mounted on camels - I almost fell off mine!! The camel ride took us further along to the vast open spaces.  Surrounding the open space dominated by the Khazneh are other tombs and halls mostly little more than man-made caves carved out from the rock. To the right, the path continues between more widely-spaced rock walls studded with smaller tombs, which are visible as black holes in the rock. A little further on, on the left is the giant semicircle of the amphitheatre, which had seats for eight thousand people. Behind it, the rock wall is pitted with tombs.

The Amphitheatre
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It was time to dismount the camels and do a bit of climbing. It is possible, without too much difficulty, to scramble up to a point on the facing wall about fifty metres or so above the ground, and look down on the facade from above.  It was a spectacular sight.  We scaled some more small hills and took in some breathtaking views of this city and tried to imagine the civilization that thrived here around 3000 years ago.  The rocks themselves are around 300 million years old and over the years, weather and elements have given the rocks a unique formation and design. It was so artistic!

Design formations on the rocks over the years
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We walked another two kms towards the a small restaurant where we had a traditional Nabeatean lunch and then mounted on donkeys!  I don't know which one of us felt the bigger ass  - but my donkey had quite the attitude.   It was galloping away as if it was a horse!

About 25 minutes later - we were dropped off to a paved road where a waiting taxi took us back to our hotel.  We were exhausted from the heat but invigorated from the experience.  I won't write anymore and let the pictures speak from themselves!

The city that once was..
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One bit of trivia I learned was that large chunks of the Indiana Jones film - The Last Crusade - were shot in Petra!  We'll be renting that film sometime soon after our arrival in Toronto!

Jordan is more expensive than Egypt. While one US dollar fetches about LE 5.60.  It takes about US$1.40 to get one Joradnian Dinar!  Funnily enough, my benchmark is the falafel!!  What cost us mere 0.75 cents in Cairo cost us around 1.50 JD (that 's around $2.20) in a similar establishment in Jordan - and it wasn't even all that great!

Sampling the Jordanian Falafel - we're becoming quite the connoisseurs! ;)
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Tomorrow, we leave Petra and return to Amman - where we will do a quick city tour before boarding our flight back to Cairo.