Petra

Petra is an ancient city, built out of the sandstone rocks in the Jordanian desert over 2,000 years ago. Very little is known about the Naboteans and their culture, but it is evident from the craftsmanship and technology they used to design their desert homes that they were sophisticated people. Walking through Petra is an otherworldly experience. The funerary monuments and cave dwellings inspire the imagination, while the natural beauty of the landscape takes your breath away.

To get to the city center of Petra, visitors have to walk through the quarter-mile long siq, a walkway made from natural rock formations.

The Siq

The natural colors and formations of the rock faces in the Siq are incredible.

The Naboteans most likely emerged from local nomadic tribes, and they supported their impressive city by trading with other countries. To do this, they formed large caravans and traveled for most of the summer, returning to Petra to winter in their permanent homes. Along the way, they absorbed new cultural, architectural and technological ideas from the civilizations they visited, including their Arabic neighbors (Egypt and Yemen) as well as their Mediterranean trading partners in the North (Greeks and Romans). There is evidence of these influences throughout Petra.

The Naboteans collected water by carving ledges into the edges of the rock. The water would run along the ledge, and pass over small cisterns every 100 meters or so. The silt would settle into the cistern, and the water would continue on to a large well. Through this method, the Naboteans were able to collect enough water to last them through the entire dry season.

The most commonly visited areas of Petra are the Treasury, made famous from a scene in an Indiana Jones film, and the Monastery, which overlooks much of Petra and the surrounding landscapes. The names for the facades are based on legends about the buildings and not actually related to their function in the city of Petra. Almost all of the facades were funerary monuments to honor royalty buried in the tombs below.

Peeking through the Siq toward the treasury (Indiana Jones view).

The Treasury-The Naboteans built their facades into rock walls that never face the sun, the wind, or the rain, and they built protective ledges above the structures to prevent water from running down the front. These preservation techniques have left the facades in near-perfect condition.

Another view. The Naboteans were extremely efficient workers. They built secret stairways to access the facades from behind or above, and they worked quickly, taking only 2 years on average to carve a facade.

Clusters of facades (see photo below) make you feel as though you have walked onto an alien planet.

This facade was slightly more exposed to the elements and hasn't stood the test of time as well as the others. Still amazing though for a 2,000 year old structure!

A few of the more simple facades just outside of central Petra.

One of the most stunning features of Petra is the amazing color palette that is naturally present in the rock formations throughout the city.

Our guide warned us that it was quite a hike up to the Monastery, so I decided to take a donkey. Kevin walked the 800 stairs to the top.

A donkey adventure.

A Bedouin and his donkey resting on a cliff along the trail to the Monastery.

Seeing the Monastery was well worth the journey to the top of the mountain. There is a little Bedouin cafe at the top, and we sipped mint lemonade and enjoyed the view.

The Monastery

Just beyond the Monastery is the peak of the mountain, or “the end of the world” according to the handwritten signs that mark the trail. The views are incredible.

Looking back toward the Monastery from "the end of the world."

View from the top (the end of the world).

We were tired after a day of exploring, but we couldn’t turn down the chance to see Petra at Night. We walked through a candlelit Siq in silence, only to arrive at a beautifully lit Treasury, where we were seated in a semi-circle formation and served Jordanian sweet tea. Then local musicians performed traditional Bedouin music. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and one we will never forget.

Walking through the candlelit Siq.

The Treasury (we were not using a tripod, as photography was not our priority for the evening, so please forgive the blurry quality of this photo)

We woke bright and early the next morning to meet our guide, Rami, for a hike up to the high place of sacrifice. Rami had warned us that the hike would be difficult, but we underestimated his warnings. The “trails” were often completely unmarked, and if they were marked at all it was by a tiny cairn, noticeable only to the seasoned guide. Ultimately it was well worth a bit of anxiety and tough terrain to avoid the tourists and see some spectacular views.

The trail was flat and easy at the beginning.

A hairy section of trail. Our guide, Rami, made me hold his hand as we went through this section. One misstep and you'd go sliding right down the mountain.

We stopped to look down on the treasury.

We stopped by Little Petra for a look around before we headed back to Amman. Little Petra is older than Petra, and was abandoned after only a few years as the Naboteans felt the area nearby offered a better landscape for their needs. Little Petra was a fun side trip that many tourists don’t make the effort to see. As a result, we had almost the whole place to ourselves, and we spent a lot of time climbing up ancient staircases into the ancient homes to see what we could find.

The facades in Little Petra are equally well-preserved.

Two days definitely wasn’t enough time to explore Petra to the extent that we would’ve liked, but I guess that means we will just have to find a way to go back…

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