PETRA - WADI MUSA, JORDAN

PETRA - WADI MUSA, JORDAN

The Treasury Building (Al Khazna) at Petra

The Treasury Building (Al Khazna) - it's almost 40 meters high and intricately decorated with Corinthian capitals, friezes and figures.  The Treasury was constructed in the 1st Century BC. 

We drove from Wadi Rum to Petra with Amjed, making the customary stop to a souvenir and coffee shop along the way, in the hope of us buying something.

There are no eyes on me ... they're all on Alex.  The Arab men love to stand and point at Alex for being so tall.  Here is Alex making friends with a local in the cafe on the way to Petra.

Brigid being dressed up as a local.

On the way out of Wadi Rum we stopped to visit the historic train line that used to run between Turkey and Mecca, carrying pilgrims.  It was also the train line that Lawrence of Arabia continually attacked with the help of the Bedouins.  Having watched the movie the kids had a better appreciation for what we were looking at.

Turkish train line

Conor aiming to fire...

On the way to Wadi Musa, to visit Petra, we passed the mountain on which Aaron, the brother of Moses, is buried.  It is a strenous 12 hour return trek undertaken by some pilgrims.  We were not one of them :)

Jabal Haroun - a place of pilgrimage for Jews, Christians and Muslims.  You can just see the small, white shrine at the top of this mountain honouring the burial site of Aaron, Moses' older brother.

PETRA

Petra is known as "the lost city" and is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.  It was built by the Nabataean Empire around the 1st Century BC as their capital, which became wealth through its trade in frankincense, myrrh and spices.  Petra was later annexed to the Roman Empire and continued to thrive until a large earthquake in 363 AD destroyed much of the city.  The earthquake combined with changes in trade routes, eventually led to the downfall of the city, which was ultimately abandoned.  From this point on it appears that it was only the Bedouins who knew about Petra.  In 1812, a Swiss explorer, Johannes Burckhardt, dressed us as an Arab and convinced his Bedouin guide to take him to the lost city.  From that point on Petra has become a point of fascination and intrigue for thousands of tourists.  It really is quite a sight to be seen!

Petra is also known as the rose-red city because of the wonderful colour of the rock from which many of the city's structures were carved.  The buildings and tombs are carved out of the side of the mountains.  It is hard to imagine how such exquisite buildings could be carved out of rock like that.  I feel for the men who had to do the work.

The Nabataeans buried their dead in intricate tombs and the city also had temples, a theater and, following the Roman annexation and later Byzantine influence, a colonnaded street and churches.

THE SIQ
The Siq is the main entrance to the ancient city of Petra and is a dim, narrow gorge, which winds its way approximately 1.2kms before ending at the Treasury - a sight to be seen!

There's a lot of walking to be done in Petra.  What amazed us was the number of elderly people making the trek down through the siq to the Treasury and then on through the rest of the lost city.  Many take donkey or carriage rides and the look of fear on their faces had the children laughing.  I certainly wouldn't want to be a donkey in Petra - it's a tough gig!

Making our way down through the Siq 

A carriage travelling through the siq.

The stunning rock that forms the siq.

The Siq widens at points through the 1.2 km trek down to the Treasury.

After walking 1.2kms you catch a glimpse of the Treasury - it's breathtaking.

The first glimpse of the Treasury.

The canals carrying the water down through the Siq to the city.  The Nabataeans are reported to have been masters in hydrological engineering.

Brigid in front of the Treasury

THE TREASURY

The name "treasury" came about because locals were convinced that such an impressive structure could only have been created to hold treasure.  At one time the sculptures above the entrance, and particularly the urn at the top, were thought to be full of treasure.  You can still see the bullet marks from people firing in a desperate attempt to smash them and release what they assumed would be gold.

Excavations have shown that the Treasury stands on top of a group of much earlier tombs, which are now hidden beneath the sand and gravel deposits washed down the Siq over centuries, and that it was more likely to have been a temple.

Some cool Jordanian soldiers posing with the kids in front of the Treasury,

The inlets either side of the Treasury which men used to climb to the top to carve out the rock.

This is a photo of the area discovered under the Treasury where doorways and a fountain have been discovered. This area is no longer accessible to tourists and can only be seen through a wire grate.

There are so many places to explore in Petra.  You would need a couple of days to fully explore the city but I don't think the kids would have been too impressed if we pushed for that.

This photo, taken from the internet, beautifully shows "The Street of Facades," which is a row of monumental Nabataean tombs carved in the southern cliff face.

The Petra Theatre is the only theatre in the world carved into the rock and can accommodate 4000 spectators.   

The Theatre

The Theatre

Petra's Royal Tombs

Brigid on the site of the Great Temple Complex.

The original floor of the Great Temple.

THE MONASTERY (AD DEIR)

The kids were absolute legends in climbing the 850 or more stairs to the Monastery.  Marcus counted close to 900 and some people say there's more but no matter how many there are, it's a tough climb.  It's well worth it though.

The Monastery facade is so big that it seems like an optical illusion.  The doorway alone is taller than a house but it's hard to get a sense of this looking at the photos.  The facade is 48m high and 47m wide.  It's not as decorated as the Treasury but still very impressive.  It gets its name from the time it was used as a Christian church but it was originally built as a temple, possibly dedicated to the Nabatean king Obodas I, who reigned in the 1st Century BC and was posthumously deified.

Conor and Alex continued their journey to the top of the mountain, following a sign which read: "Top of the World: Best View in Petra."  It appeared well worth the extra climb.  They returned with stunning photos.

Some people pay for a donkey ride up the stairs to the Monastery.  It's a cruel ride as most of the people who opt to take the donkey ride are overweight so I can't imagine what it would be like lugging people up and down those difficult and tricky stairs every day.

The Monastery - Petra

The kids in front of the Monastery, after a long climb up.

Conor and Alex headed up to the top viewpoint above the Monastery.

Alex's photo from the "top of the world."

Conor, and a cat, at the "Top of the World."

A statue of Conor.

The colour of the rock in Petra is exquisite.

The varying patterns in the rock

A local boy playing horsies with a broom and a piece of string on the stairs leading down from the Monastery.

Marcus with a kitten he found on the way down from the Monastery.  Any distraction from the hike was welcomed.

Alex in front of the Treasury, as he was heading out of the city, after all the tourists had left.

Petra stretches over a massive 60 square kilometre area so there's a lot of walking to be done and I, for one, could hardly walk by the end of the day.  Alex came to Petra in 1993 so it was somewhere that I have always wanted to visit, after hearing of his experience here.  It really is a remarkable place and points to the incredible ingenuity from people living over 2000 years ago.

After our long day walking we headed, or crawled for me, back to the Petra Palace Hotel (certainly not a Palace :) but you get what you pay for).  Thanks again to tripadvisor I found a great place for us to eat dinner and we all then headed back to our rooms and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of empires past.

FAREWELL TO JORDAN

The next day we made our way back to the border crossing after three glorious days in Jordan.

Brigid in between Jordan and Israel....

The boys playing around on one of the many tanks on display throughout the Israeli desert.