It is hard to say anything new about Petra. Hidden for centuries until Bedouins guided a Swiss explorer to the site in 1812, today it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the star of an Indiana Jones movie and the reason most tourists come to Jordan. It was even better than I'd anticipated.
When Petra became a UNESCO site in 1985, the 400 or so Bedouins living there were relocated to a village constructed for them a few miles away. I can see the village from where I'm starting to write this, at the top of a 750+ step trail that leads to the Place of High Sacrifice above Petra. So I'll start with an unconventional view of the city.
Seeing the terrain from above, it's easy to see how this place could be overlooked for centuries. You have to zoom in to see anything: the village is in the distance, hundred foot high façades of royal tombs are carved into cliffs on the right, and tiny people and camels dot the wide roadway in the middle. I could see our hotel behind me, and realized that the sunset we'd enjoyed last night was right over Petra, hidden in the wadi below.
Armed with sunscreen, hats, closed-toe shoes, extra batteries and water, we left the hotel at 7 AM this morning for our adventure. We were treated to low clouds over the wadi. Hazim had the bus stop to take in the unusual sight.
Unless you are a dignitary, an ambulance driver or a Bedouin who lives in a nearby cave, you enter Petra through the Siq, a 2/3 mile long sinuous path between up to 300 feet high limestone walls. It was initially created when an earthquake split the rock, and then was carved by wind and water.
Finally you reach the most famous structure in Petra, the Treasury. There were legends that a treasure was hidden within, or even in the urn above the pediment. You can see bullet holes where Bedouins tried to free the treasure supposedly stashed there. But it was probably just a tomb. As the first structure traders would see when they entered Petra, it was designed to impress, and succeeds.
Details of the Treasury
Fifty-five percent of visitors to Petra take pictures of the Treasury, turn around, and leave the site. We were going to walk 2 1/2 miles into the city, break for lunch, then split up to explore side hikes on our own. Petra is 17.5 square miles, so there were lots of options. By the end of the day, I'd walked 15 miles.
The Nabataeans who settled here around 500 BC recognized their strategic location. They were the first culture to develop their type of water system, building clay water pipes through the Siq to bring water into Petra from cisterns. Parts of the trough that held the pipes are still visible. They also dug a 270 foot tunnel through the rock outside the Siq to divert the rare flood waters from entering the city, collecting the water in cisterns.
Remnants of the water system.
With reliable water and the security of the single, easily defended access through the Siq, the Nabataeans had created an ideal caravan site. The location was central to trade from what is now Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the Mediterranean. Caravans from these regions might take 3 to 4 months to reach Petra, and another 5 or 6 months to reach the Near East. Traders could be on the road for 18-24 months. Caravans could meet in Petra and exchange salt for silver, spices for frankincense. The Nabataeans became the most advanced and wealthy culture in the world. Their culture peaked during the 2nd and 3rd century BC. when the city grew to a secure, residential, commercial city of 20,000.
Heavily eroded and barely discernable, a man (right) leads a camel (feet and hump, center) through the Siq. Carvings like this decorated both sides of the Siq.
The Romans annexed Petra in 106 BC. They left their imprint here, but with the establishment of new cities to protect the eastern territories of the empire, new trade routes won favor. A 4th century earthquake destroyed much of the city, and by the middle of the 7th century Petra was largely deserted.
The beautiful structures of Petra are, essentially, carved façades for tombs or mausoleums. Only one intact free-standing building has survived the ravages of time and earthquakes.
The Nabataeans initially carved rocks into cube-shaped tombs, two of which are shown below.
They began building tombs in the cliff façades, adopting architectural ornaments and features from other cultures to decorate the façades. The natural caves pocking the walls, could be widened into burial chambers, homes, temples, or storage rooms. Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman elements are among the decorative elements. There are obelisks, pendiments, columns, stepped blocks, and symbolic carvings.
Tourism at Petra has cycled wildly in the decades since its designation as a UNESCO site. It surged with the release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, plummeted after 9/11, spiked following Petra's designation as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and fell as the Arab Spring uprisings again gave western travelers pause. Jordan is a safe country but struggles to remove the association many westerners extrapolate from its neighbors.
One passes monument after monument while walking down the wadi (valley) past the Treasury. Some remain unfinished.
There are also smaller chambers which may have been tombs of lesser personages, storage rooms or homes.
In imitation of Greek amphitheatre, a 4000 seat theatre was carved was out of living rock. The only other theater known to have been constructed this way is in Israel, but Petra's is a much finer specimen. Unfortunately, the Nabataeans copied the theatre seating idea without an understanding of acoustical design and the new theatre was useless as a performance venue.
But it still looks pretty good.
Eventually we reached the Lower City, with its mix of Roman and Nabataean influence. The Romans built a colonnaded main street with fountains fed from a nearby reservoir. There was an agora and the other trappings of a Roman city.
While the Roman buildings also did not withstand the earthquakes, sections of their better constructed walls and arches remain.
The sole remaining free-standing building, a 1st century temple dedicated to Dushara, a pre-Islamic Arabian god, survived because wood had been included for decorative and structural purposes. The 75 foot high arch, incredibly, has stood for 2000 years
After a group buffet lunch, Hazim reviewed some options for explorations on our own, ranging from a direct 2 1/2 mile walk retracing our steps to the museum and bus parking lot, to more strenuous options. Greg headed up 900 steps to a site called the Monastery to pick up a couple of geocaches, while I climbed a mere 200 steps to inspect the Royal Tombs.
The tombs are a set of 4 adjacent impressive façades dominating the cliffside towards the end of the main road through Petra.
They each have different features. This one, with its deep colonnaded patio and earthtone painted ceiling, was converted to a Byzantine church in 446 AD.
The Silk Tomb has beautifully swirled colored rock. Note the Byzantine step patterns at the top of the façade.
And just so they don't feel neglected, two of the other Royal Tombs:
The view from the Royal Tombs. My next destination is the Jordanian flag at the top of the highest peak along the skyline.
I was hot and low on water, so texted Greg and asked if he'd meet me at the top of the High Place of Sacrifice trail. It's a beautiful hike, and deserving of its "Hard" designation in the Petra Tail guide. Especially in the Jordanian heat.
From just a little bit up the trail.
Some of the steps are a little worn.
Shadow animals prowl the walls
Still climbing. Going slower.
The Place of Sacrifice. Big psych. Trail still heading up.
Finally, the flag and a rewarding view over the diminutive Royal Tombs. I hung out here enjoying the quiet and the vistas until Greg arrived.
And then a wee bit higher, and back to the valley.
We bought much-needed water from a Bedouin woman near the top, and then were afraid to drink it because in some other country we'd just been warned that unscrupulous vendors sometimes refill used bottles with tap water. Hazim later told us we needn't have worried.
I don't know how Greg managed two of the long hikes. We were both pretty wiped out by the time we hobbled back to the bus. But oh so worth it.
I'm finishing this post the next day and we're both finding we're a little old for such shenanigans.
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