The Palace Tomb, one of the four major Royal Tombs in Petra.
T plus 96 - Petra
This was one of the most eagerly anticipated destinations for me when I started my journey. And it didn't disappoint. Petra, also known as "The Rose City", is almost entirely chiseled from the red-pink sandstone of its surrounding cliffs. What's fascinating to me is how it sits, completely insulated, within an enclosed rocky basin. Encircled by mountains, it is only accessible through two narrow canyons, or "siqs". In fact, it is so well-hidden that it remained forgotten and lost for centuries, only rediscovered in 1812 by a Swiss explorer.
Petra was established by the Nabataeans, an ancient Arabian people, in 300BC. It served as their capital, and over several hundred years, it became a prominent trading city, where caravans carrying Chinese silks, Arabian incense and Indian spices would converge. Gradually, Hellenistic and Roman elements were incorporated into its architecture, blending with existing pre-Islamic Arabian foundations. A journey through Petra today is like a passage through history where influences of successive civilisations emanate from its rock-cut facades. Immortalised on this canvas of solid stone lie Nabataean infrastructure, Egyptian artistry, Greek temples, a Roman theater and even a Crusader fort. And it's wonderful how all these very different components come together so harmoniously, as if planned from the very onset.
Well worthy then, of its title as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. In a poll run by the New7Wonders foundation which attracted 100 million votes, Petra was named, comfortably, as one of the seven. The others were the Great Wall of China, Chichen Itza (pyramid) in Mexico, the Colosseum of Rome, Machu Pichu in Peru, the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.
It's possible to see almost all of Petra in one day, but this would involve walking something like 30km on undulating terrain with very little shade. So perhaps more realistic in winter. It's much more bearable to do it over two days, especially since the two-day ticket is 55 Dinar (USD78), just 5 Dinar more than a one-day ticket. The site is pretty massive, and the trails take you up several mountains for spectacular yet different views. For those who don't feel like walking, there are camels, horses and donkeys for hire, although bear in mind that you will be contributing to the piles of poo deposited everywhere by these animals.
I could write more about the monuments in Petra, but it's much easier to explain with the help of illustrations. Some photos from my walkabouts:
This was one of the most eagerly anticipated destinations for me when I started my journey. And it didn't disappoint. Petra, also known as "The Rose City", is almost entirely chiseled from the red-pink sandstone of its surrounding cliffs. What's fascinating to me is how it sits, completely insulated, within an enclosed rocky basin. Encircled by mountains, it is only accessible through two narrow canyons, or "siqs". In fact, it is so well-hidden that it remained forgotten and lost for centuries, only rediscovered in 1812 by a Swiss explorer.
Petra was established by the Nabataeans, an ancient Arabian people, in 300BC. It served as their capital, and over several hundred years, it became a prominent trading city, where caravans carrying Chinese silks, Arabian incense and Indian spices would converge. Gradually, Hellenistic and Roman elements were incorporated into its architecture, blending with existing pre-Islamic Arabian foundations. A journey through Petra today is like a passage through history where influences of successive civilisations emanate from its rock-cut facades. Immortalised on this canvas of solid stone lie Nabataean infrastructure, Egyptian artistry, Greek temples, a Roman theater and even a Crusader fort. And it's wonderful how all these very different components come together so harmoniously, as if planned from the very onset.
Well worthy then, of its title as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. In a poll run by the New7Wonders foundation which attracted 100 million votes, Petra was named, comfortably, as one of the seven. The others were the Great Wall of China, Chichen Itza (pyramid) in Mexico, the Colosseum of Rome, Machu Pichu in Peru, the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.
It's possible to see almost all of Petra in one day, but this would involve walking something like 30km on undulating terrain with very little shade. So perhaps more realistic in winter. It's much more bearable to do it over two days, especially since the two-day ticket is 55 Dinar (USD78), just 5 Dinar more than a one-day ticket. The site is pretty massive, and the trails take you up several mountains for spectacular yet different views. For those who don't feel like walking, there are camels, horses and donkeys for hire, although bear in mind that you will be contributing to the piles of poo deposited everywhere by these animals.
I could write more about the monuments in Petra, but it's much easier to explain with the help of illustrations. Some photos from my walkabouts:
The long and narrow siq, or canyon, that you walk through to get to the Treasury, which is the entrance to the Petra complex. The siq is actually a cleft in the rock formed by tectonic movement, not by water-erosion like most canyons.
Al-Khazneh or "the Treasury". So-named because it was thought an Egyptian pharaoh hid his treasure in the urn at the very top. The bullet holes that riddle the front of the structure are from locals attempting to dislodge the treasure. All I can say is that they have really terrible aim.
The view from the Treasury, back at the siq from which one emerges. This gives you an idea of how the mountains surrounding Petra look like.
The view from the High Place of Sacrifice. From here, you can really see the "basin" which the city of Petra sits in.
Top-down view of the Street of Facades and the Roman Theater which has a seating capacity of 8,000. Everything you see here is hewn from solid rock.
Top pic: The Palace (left side) and Corinthian (right side) Royal Tombs.
Bottom pic: The Urn Tomb with its magnificent tiered entrance.
No one is quite sure who these tombs belong to because there are no inscriptions inside them, or they have been worn away over time. Hence the slightly ambiguous-sounding names.
Bottom pic: The Urn Tomb with its magnificent tiered entrance.
No one is quite sure who these tombs belong to because there are no inscriptions inside them, or they have been worn away over time. Hence the slightly ambiguous-sounding names.
The Silk Tomb with rainbow coloured swirls of rock as the main feature of its facade.
The Great Temple of Petra. This enormous 7,500 sq metre complex was only discovered in 1992 by a team of archaeologists from Brown University in the US. It was previously covered in sand and rubble. Excavations still continue today. The palace, built in the first century BC, is a two-tier structure, supported by a mind-boggling 120 columns. Only a fraction of them survive today.
You can see the Hellenistic (Greek) elements in the ornate carvings on the column in the bottom pic.
The Colonnade Street below the temple was the "main drag", a high street of sorts where arcades of shops hosted Petraen traders and shoppers.
You can see the Hellenistic (Greek) elements in the ornate carvings on the column in the bottom pic.
The Colonnade Street below the temple was the "main drag", a high street of sorts where arcades of shops hosted Petraen traders and shoppers.
The Garden Tomb picturesquely nestled amongst mountains in a little valley of its own.
The Monastery, an 800-step ascent from ground level.
View from the plateau where the Monastery sits.
Sunset from a rest area at the Monastery plateau.
I "discovered", too late, that visitors are not exactly allowed to spend the night in Petra. This was my little makeshift campsite on a ledge in the cliff face.
If you accidentally forget that it's forbidden to camp in Petra, you could also accidentally take a picture of the Milky Way from your little hole-in-the-wall.
Unfortunately I didn't bring a cable release on this trip, so astrophotography is somewhat limited. 30 secs at ISO2,500. 10mins at ISO200 would be better, but you'd get star trails. A rig, like a equatorial mount or an autoguider, to compensate for the Earth's rotation would be much better. For this, more time and money are required.
Unfortunately I didn't bring a cable release on this trip, so astrophotography is somewhat limited. 30 secs at ISO2,500. 10mins at ISO200 would be better, but you'd get star trails. A rig, like a equatorial mount or an autoguider, to compensate for the Earth's rotation would be much better. For this, more time and money are required.
