The Amazing Petra

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So much has been written about Petra and so little does it justice. I am not certain I can succeed where better writers have failed. Here is the Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra.

An ancient city, according to a famous poem "half as old as time itself" but really only 2000 plus years, it was "lost to the west " until 1812 when it was rediscovered by a Swiss wanderer. He must have been astonished indeed to stumble upon this amazing place.

The approach to the City is through a narrow canyon. It must be 8 feet wide five stories high and go on for half a kilometer. Progress is slow as it is hard not to take a picture every 100 meters. Then comes the big reveal. A faux front of an enormous building carved into the rock. This first stop is called " the Treasury". From there it keeps getting more amazing.

We hiked to the very back , and from there to the very top. All 820 stairs cut into the side of the hill. From there we looked across at the "monastery " and thought just how did they do that two centuries ago?

As we hiked out the rock turned red in the Golden Hour.Although we had a long ride ahead to Amman ,Johan and I sat on a bench and just stared at the Treasury as the light fell. You don't have to have a degree in architecture to appreciate the beauty through symmetry and the Greek influence. We were the last to leave and having the place to ourselves was five minutes of magic.

Then back to Amann on a four hour bus ride. A long day with a four hike and climb. Falling asleep wasn't really an issue.

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Comments

[Katherine]

Petra!
Sounds beautiful! I am so excited to see some pictures. Its great to read about your travels while they're still ongoing.

[Angus]

Very cool! Easy to picture based on the description, knew it had to be from that final scene in the Raiders of the Lost Ark even before I wiki'd it. Must have been incredible to see in real life