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September 12th, 2000
We journey south from Haifa taking the overnight bus to Eilat, the most southern city in Israel. Eilat is wedged between the borders of Jordan and Egypt and is a playground for the more wealthy Israeli tourists. It was not our scene and we made tracks toward the Jordanian border only 10 minutes away from downtown Eilat. We caught a local taxi on to Aqaba, the Jordanian equivalent of Eilat, which is nestled into the other half of the shared headland. In Aqaba, Annette and I shared another taxi with a Japanese couple on to our destination of the fabled Petra, via the scenically beautiful 'Kings Road'. Passing stunning mountain ranges and desert scenery, the only inhabitants hardy enough to brave the extremes here are Bedouins. Formerly nomadic herdsmen they now tend to move around less frequently but still maintain much of the lifestyle, grazing their sheep and goats and traveling around on camels. They live in large open-faced tents draped with black cloth, and make jewelry and woven items for the tourist trade.
From up on the high elevations of the Kings Road we looked down upon the fantastic natural sandstone formations of the Petra Valley. We stopped here to take a picture of Annette on a camel that belonged to a Bedouin man selling his wares by the roadside. Finally we arrived at Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses), after a 3 hour cab ride, the gateway to the ruins of Petra. Wadi Musa is a dirty, dusty and busy little town which did not impress us! But only 10 minutes walk from our guest house was truly one of the world's great wonders. Carved entirely into the naturally pink rocks, the remains of the once lost Nabatean city of Petra include temples, Roman theatre, monasteries, houses and roads. Once the stronghold of the gifted Nabateans, an early Arab people, Petra was renowned for its massive architecture and ingenuity of its pools, dams and water channels.
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The Nabataeans dominated the trade routes of ancient Arabia, and at the height of their power the kingdom stretched to Damascus and included parts of the Sinai and Negev Deserts, effectively ruling the greater part of Arabia. Ultimately their increasing influence and prosperity was seen as a threat to the Romans who then took control of the trade routes. The decline of Petra was swift and inevitable and by the 16th century Petra was lost to the West. It was only in 1812 that a Swiss adventurer discovered the ruins, but it was not until 1924 that the first archeological excavations began.
From the entrance a track leads you down to the Siq, a narrow gorge that takes you into the city. The Siq is 1207m long and 3-16m wide with sheer walls that rise to a height of 100m. The Nabataeans widened it where necessary and paved the walkway in the 1st century BC. Along the length of the Siq on the south side runs a channel carved directly into the roch that funnels water down into the main city. On the north side there are a series of interlocking ceramic pipes that also channeled water.
The Nabataeans were noted and respected for their ingenuity when it came to water management, incorporating drains, channels and hydraulic systems into their city planning. The Siq abruptly ends and opens onto a huge courtyard where the jewel of Petra , the 'Al-Khazneh' (known as the treasury) dominates your senses. It is truly an awesome feat of architectural engineering and great beauty, which was originally plastered and painted back in the 1st century BC. Petra is certainly on a par with the great pyramids of Egypt. Take the grandeur and stunning natural formations of the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park (Utah) and couple that with great architectural cities such as Rome or Pompeii and you have Petra.
Your first view of the |
| Thanks to Sharrly Paul for the use of these photos | Clicking |
Some more views |
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| Thanks to Sharrly Paul for the use of these photos |
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Annette and I spent 2 long days hiking around the ruins and still there was much more we could have seen. We began by entering the park and immediately took a rarely traveled side canyon called the Wadi Mudhlim trail. Near the beginning of this trail is a large tunnel 88 meters long and 6m wide, carved directly through the rock and used to divert floodwater from the Siq (the main processional entrance way into the city). The canyon is mainly shaded and cool with towering sandstone cliffs on either side and blossoming Oleander shrubs in the basin. At certain times of the year this canyon is prone to flash floods, evidence of which was apparent as much as 30 feet above us. The rock faces were worn and smooth from the action of the river and in places the canyon walls closed in and sinuously curved in tight repeating 'S' shapes. It was totally quiet back here with no outside noise or interference able to penetrate the towering walls. You could hear that ringing noise in your ears that is only noticeable with complete silence! The rock contained many different shades of red, pink, ochre and cream with occasional dark grey bands rippling through the faces. Towards the end of the trail we encountered an older Bedouin man, black puddles for eyes and dressed in green fatigues and traditional Arab head scarf. He showed us his small collection of original coins from ancient Petra, all black and worn. He greeted us and picked up a rock and proceeded to rub the orange and red sandstone powder like make-up onto Annette's cheeks!
All around us were carved symbols and bas-relief imagery on the rock walls. As the trail ended and it opened up into an open valley we encountered numerous cliff dwellings and tombs carved into the soft rock at different levels and accessed by staircases. We marveled at the sheer amount of labor necessary to create these works of monumental grandeur. Some of the interiors of the more prestigious tombs were literally cavernous and the cubic tonnage of removed material was simply mind-boggling, considering the tools used in those days.
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| Obelisk Tomb & Bab Alsiq Triclinum. |
| Thanks to Sharrly Paul for the use of these photos |
Our journey on the first day kept rewarding us with ever more stunning sights as we approached the central section of the city. The 'Street of Facades', amphitheater and the 'colonnaded street' all lay at the heart of life in Petra. There are over 500 tombs in the city and it was the Royal tombs that dominated the architectural landscape of Petra. There are several different trails and steep staircases up the hillsides overlooking central Petra. On the top of one such site was the 'Sacrificial High Altar', where there were additionally two 7m high obelisques that were believed to represent the two most important Nabatean Gods, Dushara and Al'Uzza. The panoramic views from up here were just spectacular. Another such trail took us up to a precipice overlooking the Al-Khazna. It was wonderful to view many of the monuments from a variety of perspectives. Our final long hike was to the largest of Petra's monuments, the 'Dier' (Monastery). It is reached by climbing the 800 steps that are cut into the rock to the 45m x 50m structure.
This temple or tomb was clearly an important pilgrimage site, with worshippers and priests using a processional route to congregate in the open area in front of the monument. From the 4th century onward it was used as a monastery during the Christian Byzantine Era when crosses were painted on its rear walls.
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After two long days hiking many miles in the intense heat and feeling overwhelmed by the sensory experience we happily left Jordan and ventured back through Eilat and onward to the relaxing beaches of the Sinai, Egypt.
Click here for a Map of Petra.
To open a window about the history of Petra, click here.
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