Petra........so much more than the Treasury

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We arrived at Petra with apprehension that it would rain. The walk in from the entry gate took us past many Nabatean monuments built more than 2000 years ago. The Nabateans buried theIr dead in intricate tombs that were cut out of the mountainsides. Petra came under lots of other influences including Roman and Byzantine before being deserted following an earthquake and changing trade routes.

The Siq, the narrow gorge that leads visitors into Petra, resulted from a natural splitting of the mountain. Originally there was a triumphal arch spanning the entrance to it. We walked along the cobblestone paths dodging horse drawn carriages, camels and donkeys and many other tourists.

The entrance to the Treasury reveals Petra’s most impressive facade. It is 40 metres high and decorated with Corinthian capitals, friezes and figure. It is topped by a funerary urn. After the Treasury our walk continued past the street of facades, the theatre carved into the rocks and the Royal tombs. We climbed up to the tombs and had tea at one of the shops. We continued through the Colonnaded street once one of the principal shopping streets of ancient Petra.

After stopping for lunch we started back visiting the remains of the Byzantine church with perfectly preserved mosaic floors. We continued walking over the top of the ridge past the Royal tombs again and back to the entrance. A long day about 8 hours with the rain holding off until the end of the day.

Exhausting but well worth it

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Petra
It is breathtaking standing there absorbing all the history. We enjoyed our time there. Plus we took a cooking class!

[Vic and Kev]

Petra
It was one place as we walked around that you really felt as if you had stepped back in time