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PETRA: THE ROSE RED CITY OF STONEThe ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan is both impressive and magical. The Red City of Stone was built between the 3rd Century BC and the 1st Century AD, by the Nabataeans who built their kingdom after great success with trading. Petra was located on the major trade routes, thereby making it the major caravan city in ancient times. Petra later fell into the hands of the Romans during the second century, the Muslims during the seventh century and, later, the Crusaders during the twelfth century AD. After that period, however, Petra was forgotten and lost. Lost to all, that is, except to the Bedouin nomadic tribes of the deserts of the Middle East. However, the lost city of Petra was rediscovered by the rest of the world in 1817 when Johann Ludwig Burckhardt of Austria dressed up like a Muslim pilgrim and penetrated the barriers to the lost city. The tombs of Petra were occupied by the Bedouin people until just recently when the government built them new housing settlements and made them leave Petra, in the interest of opening Petra for the world to see.
The entrance to Petra is through a narrow passage way known as the Siq gorge. We found our journey through the Siq to be exciting, as we twisted and turned through the often narrow path closed in by gigantic, colorful, sheer cliff walls which at times reached above 300 feet.
Another view of the Siq. If you look closely at the bottom of both walls, you will notice the Nabataean water channels which were cut into the rocks. The Nabataeans had the water thing down, which was important since they lived in the desert.
The journey through the Siq is rewarded at the end by the first breathtaking glimpse of the Al-Khasneh Farun, better known as The Treasury. Among other things, what makes Petra so miraculous is that all the temples, buildings, and tombs are carved out of the mountains which they call home (kinda like Mt. Rushmore). The craftsmanship, detail and symmetry is astounding.
The Treasury, which is the best preserved monument in Petra, is so named because of the urn that is found at the top of the facade. The urn is decorated with bullet holes put there by some hopeful bedouins who expected treasures to come falling down it. However, the urn has been checked out, and the only thing inside of it is solid rock. Some speculate that this beautiful facade was actually built to be the tomb for King Harith IV, while others believe it was a temple dedicated to the Goddess Isis.
The Theater of Petra is cut out of a mountain of rock and can seat up to 8500 people. Performances are still held here. John Briggs, a concert pianist even noted that the acoustics in the Petra Theater "easily matched Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House."
Carved high onto the base of the El-Khubtha Mountain are several colorful tombs. Their magnificent size and beauty suggest that these were Royal Tombs built for the Kings and Queens of Petra. The Urn Tomb shown here is adorned with a 70 foot open courtyard and columns, all of which were carved out of the mountain. This view is from inside of the Urn Tomb.
The Silk Tomb, also one of the Royal Tombs, is named for its rippling colors caused by oxidation of the sandstone over time.
To see many of the tombs and palaces in Petra, one must do a lot of walking and climbing. Here, Kelly climbs up between two large rocks to get to the Lion's Triclinium.
Here, Rich is seen enjoying the warm sun shining down on the Ancient City of Petra. Just minutes later, Rich dropped and debilitated our digital camera. But that did not stop us from bringing you the rest of the story from Petra.
After
Petra, we visited the capital city of Amman for one day. We really enjoyed
the city. Following our short visit, we crossed the border into
Israel.
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A mere 800 steps climb in the hot mid-day sun will bring you to the El-Deir or
the Monestary which was dedicated to King Obofas who died in 86 B.C. It
was later used as a Chrisitan church. The facade of this magnificent
temple is 154 feet wide and 131 feet high. The small white object in the
lower right hand corner of the doorway is Kelly. 
