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Published: January 27th 2009
If you ever wondered (I know you do) why the hell we went to the Middle East then there is just one answer.
Petra. No not the long lost love of mine but the ancient city of Petra. What else then a couple of old stones could drag me half way around the world? Egypt and Israel were originally never on the itinerary but are a late addition as they were so close to Jordan and Petra and I am a sucker for more, more, more.
Petra is amazing. It lies in a hidden valley on the ancient spice route to Gaza and Syria. It was founded by the Nabataeans over 2000 years ago and they got rich very quickly as they levied taxes on everything that was transported through their territories, This was mostly spices, incense and everything else that Europe wanted from the Middle East and India in those days and people were prepared to pay a premium for it...
Wandering into Petra is a fantastic experience which starts with the 1.2 km long As-Siq a narrow natural gorge which is as most things in Petra carved out of the fabulously colourful sandstone which takes on the
most extreme colors and has all shades of pink. This also led to the nickname Rose City.
The Nabateans were masters of catching and directing water. At the sides of the Siq is a good example as traces of the two water channels which supplied the city with water are still visible. The Nabateans needed to be skilful with water to survive in the dry environment even if it was a bit wetter back then.
The first thing we saw at the end of the Siq is the amazing Treasury. All Indiana Jones fans know this sight from
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Indy came out of the temple and rode into the Siq. It was in fact never a treasury but a tomb. Someone just claimed sometime back that it is a treasury and the name stuck. This inspired the people to hunt for treasures and they started to shoot at the big urn like structure at the top. The legend goes that the treasure is hidden in there. It comes to no surprise that apart from causing considerable damage nothing was found.
Nearly all surviving buildings in Petra are tombs. The population lived in
tents which have disappeared a long time ago. I guess they were more concerned with their housing after death than before.
The façade of the treasury is a brilliant example of the craftsmanship in those days but not the only one. There are over 800 tombs in Petra and more are discovered and excavated. A new one was unearthed in 2008 just below the entrance to the treasury!
In total we spent three days in Petra and it was well worth doing so. On the first day we hiked up to the aptly named “high place” which was a sacrificial temple on top of a hill and has spectacular views over the valley along which walls most of Petra tombs were built. The way down was similarly spectacular and led us through some amazing colourful and swirly sandstone. The colours are probably even more amazing than the tombs. You cannot imagine the colours and patterns so I included a couple of pictures which do the real thing no justice.
Petra was inhabited and deserted throughout the centuries and one of the reminders is a crusader castle. It's not what you would imagine and doesn’t feature massive walls but
is nevertheless worth a climb even if it’s just for the view. The crusaders build it on top of a small hill and skilfully used the natural features.
On the second day we explored more of the tombs and were dumbstruck again. So much work went into the facades and next to none into the interior. The inside of the tombs normally consists of one rectangular room and that’s it. Saying that the rooms inside are plain but precisely worked and the walls are smooth. Before they were whitewashed and painted and must have been quite a sight in themselves.
The tombs were build over centuries and some date from the early times and some go to the time when the Romans occupied the territories. One of the tombs still contains an inscription which state that a Roman dignitary specified in his will that this tomb should be build for him by his son.
The second day was finished off with a hike up to the monastery the second most famous building in Petra. As usual it was a tomb but later converted into a church hence the name monastery. A truly fantastic building at a great location
Captivating rock
As we rounded down the mountain side we literally stopped in our tracks captivated by the scene in front of us- a masterpiece of natural art predominantly pink rock in a multitude of shades and intermittently sprayed with steel greys, bright yellows, brilliant blues, purples and stark whites. This picture does not do it justice, but as we trekked for more than an hour further the sunlight got better and we took countless numbers of photos of this unique landscape one of the many reasons Petra is so famous. if you ignore the long strenuous hike up the mountain but the views over the surrounding mountains are great. You can even see Israel from the top. Needless to say that there were lots of salesmen up there and on the bottom were lots of helpful locals with their donkeys offering rides up.
On the third day we explored the “city centre” in which temples and palaces were build in the more traditional stone on stone technique. Even they are pretty amazing and pretty big. One of the temples had massive 23 meter high walls and is standing (again) today. The buildings of the great temple were spread out over an area of 40 by 28 meters and contained everything from large places to a small theatre for performances. Despite its size and location in the middle of Petra it was only found in 1993. You got to wonder what’s still lying under the rubble.
There is even a Byzantine church in with some very detailed mosaics have survived the centuries, a Roman theatre with could seat 3000 and a colonnaded street which doubled as the main shopping strip with shops build into the sides of temples and buildings.
All in all way too much to explain so you have to go and see it for yourself. If you’re there then don’t miss a ride on a donkey or a camel. We did it and with me on the donkey and Kellie on the Camel we looked like Don Quixote and Sancho Pancha.
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