Perhaps the most famous site in Jordan is Petra, the "ancient rose-red city of the Nabataeans, Arabs who controlled the frankincense trade routes of the region in pre-Roman times" (according to the Lonely Planet). This weekend I hopped a plane to Amman, the capital of Jordan, met up with a friend who was there for work and rented a car to drive three hours south to see the ancient city.
I had been so busy with work during the week leading up to the trip, that I hadn't done much reading about the site before I arrived. Pretty quickly, though, I decided that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Rather than knowing just what to expect and just what I was going to see, I wandered through the ancient ruins encountering surprise after surprise. It was a perfect example of one of my favorite Paulo Coelho quotes, "at the same time, since all things are new, you see only the beauty in them and feel happy to be alive."
Just inside the gate that marks the entrance to Petra, there are a few caves carved into the rock walls lining the path. Not too far down the path is the Obelisk Tomb and Bab As-Siq Triclinium, which was an impressive first sight to see (though not nearly as impressive as the things to come, I later realized!).
From the Triclinium, we passed a few more caves before arriving at the entrance to As-Siq. The Siq marks the ancient entrance to Petra and is an impressive, narrow gorge between rock walls that rise up as high as 80 meters! The Siq itself is 1200 meters long (appx. 12 football fields!) and was formed by tectonic forces that literally pulled the rock apart to create the passageway.
The journey through the Siq was incredible, with beautiful rock colors and formations, tons of twists and turns in the path and even tiny alters carved into the walls along the way. With so many things to observe within the Siq, its end comes seemingly out of nowhere. And just as you exit the Siq, you find yourself face-to-face with Al-Khazneh, also known as the Treasury. There are not words to describe how impressive the Treasury is, especially when it appears before you after a long walk through the Siq. The building face is carved into the stone wall and was created as a tomb, though it has been misnamed the "Treasury" by a local belief that an Egyptian pharaoh hid his treasure here. (Another random fact, the Treasury was made famous by "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.")
Beyond the Treasury, the path that began as the Siq continues, though the path is much wider and the walls less towering here. This area is known as the Street of Facades and is lined with over 40 ancient tombs.
Just past the Street of Facades are the Royal Tombs, carved higher on the rock face with more ornate and impressive details than the tombs of Street of Facades. Unfortunately these tombs have been affected by erosion over the years, so they show a little wear and tear, but they are still stunning. The largest of the Royal Tombs is the Urn Tomb which was carved around 70 AD and used in the fifth century as a Byzantine church. We spent a good bit of time climbing around and through this tomb and marveling at its beauty.
Main chamber inside the Urn Tomb
The natural colors of the rock on the ceiling inside the Urn Tomb
On the first level of the Urn Tomb, looking up to higher levels
When we were satisfied with our exploration of the Royal Tombs, we continued toward the city centre of ancient Petra. The road leading to the city centre is called the Colonnaded Street and was once lined with temples, public buildings and shops.
Looking up to the Great Temple
Inside the ruins of the Great Temple, facing the main altar
Inside the ruins of the Great Temple, looking back toward the Royal Tombs
After passing through the city centre, we continued our journey toward the furthest site from the entrance to Petra (appx. 6 kilometers, or 4 miles, from where we had started at the entrance gate). Ad-Deier, or the Monastery (named for its use by the Byzantine church), is perhaps the most impressive (in my opinion) of the sites at Petra. The hike from the city centre to the top of the hill where the Monastery is found takes around 45 minutes and includes over 800 stairs, but the trip is most definitely worth it!
Further past the Monastery are a couple view points that look out over Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The views were nice, but I think the most impressive view was looking back toward the Monastery, which really put everything into perspective.
With Israel and the Palestinian Territories in the background
After visiting the Monastery and view points, we were exhausted from the heat and the hiking and hauled ourselves back down the mountain, where we took a quick break and then headed back toward the entrance. It was a long day, but so nice to be outside in fresh air and seeing so many incredible ancient sites!
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