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Published: July 22nd 2007
The Treasury, Petra, Jordan.
The Treasury, Petra, Jordan. Well I got up early and hitched a perfectly timed ride to the Dahab bus stop for the daily bus to Nuwebia for the connecting two o'clock ferry, heading across the gulf of Aqaba to Jordan. Everything was running smoothly at my end. But somehow that two o'clock ferry didn’t manage to leave until 9 o'clock which meant I landed in Jordan at midnight and was through their shambolic customs routine by 2 am, but I did stop and have a cup of hibiscus tea with the customs officers. Anyway after a long day I found a cheap, by Jordanian standards ( AU only gets 0.66 of a JD) bed in the port town of Aqaba for a few hour sleep. The Next morning I was heading to Wadi Musa or the town of Moses Valley which is just a short walk to the Rose City 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 for a commercial empire that extended into Syria. Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to
Port Of Aqaba, Jordan.
Port Of Aqaba, Jordan. bring Petra under the control of their respective empires, Petra remained largely in Nabataean hands until around 100AD, when the Romans took over. It was still inhabited during the Byzantine period, when the former Roman Empire moved its focus east to Constantinople, but declined in importance thereafter. The Crusaders constructed a fort there in the 12th century, but soon withdrew, leaving Petra to drift into oblivion until the early 19th century,
The site is semi-arid, but the yielding sandstone allowed the Nabataeans to carve their architecture directly and magnificently into the towering rock face. The colour of the rock ranges from pale yellow through rich reds to the darker brown of more solid rocks, however predominantly red, giving Petra the name of the 'Rose City'.
After the two hour bus ride to Wadi Musa I found a bed in the towns only dorm room, left my gear and headed for Petra. I bought a two day pass as there are over three hundred, sights in the area! I walked down the Siq (causeway) to the spectacular Treasury, immortalised by Indiana Jones, in the Last Crusade. From here I decided to hike up the mountain to 'The High place
The Siq, Petra, Jordan
The Siq, Petra, Jordan of Sacrifice' and come back tomorrow for the other major structures. It was a hot and grueling 1.5 hour climb, but well worth it at the peak. With nothing but the sound of the wind and the occasional Jordanian mountain goat, gazing down at the lost city of Petra was quite a surreal experience. I trekked back down the 'Way of the Lion Path' on the other side of the summit, stumbling across a young girl you spent all her time rummaging through the post Roman ruins searching for artifacts! She showed me a handful of 1st & 2nd centaury Roman coins (Arts degree just paid off) which I was amazed by, and quickly relieved her of, for around $20 AU. By that time I had done some K's and I headed back to the hostel.
The next morning I was up early again, in a n attempt to beat the heat, I hopped on a free shuttle from a near by hotel and set off into Petra again. Amongst the rest of the monuments there was one particular sight I was interested in. The Monastery, similar in design to the treasury, the spectacular monastery is far larger and
Hiking The Jordan Ranges, Petra
Hiking The Jordan Ranges, Petra I would say more impressive, and made all the more beautiful by being perched atop a peak that is a demanding 2 hour climb, thus in turn dissuading many tourists from visiting it. I arrived around 7:30 and was the solitary spectator for the whole hour I was there, it is a absolutely amazing architectural feat, dazzling in its combination of Roman, Nabatatean and Persian influences. From here I descended the same way and wandered through the seemingly ghost city below en-route to one final climb where the summit perilously looks down upon the treasury from the peak above, this was a three hour round trip well worth it but harder than expected. From here I headed back to town to take it easy for awhile. Tomorrow I am going to try to get to the Jordanian capital Amman.
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Paul Roberts
non-member comment
14th one from Paul
Where are you getting the energy, not to mention the will, to climb all these bloody mountains?!! I'm tired just reading about it - I guess while you're there................ So, a ferry is 7 hours late and you arrive in a strange place at midnight; that has to be firstly, frustrating and then somewhat foreboding. The Jordan ranges, Petra look very inhospitable - not the place you'd care to get lost in. With the UK experiencing the worst floods ever and Oz freezing, it sounds like you're in the right place! Keep on trekkin'. Paul.