Petra Jordan

Petra

Finally a good nights sleep with breakfast at a normal hour and meeting up with George at 9 AM to spend the day exploring Petra, an Unesco heritage site and one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. Check another Wonder off the bucket list.

Petra was built by the Nabataeans in the 4th BC but it was lost to the world until it was rediscovered by Johann Burckhardt in 1812.

Like Manchu Picchu it tells the story of the life of its ancestors but also leaves us wondering at its mysteries. George is an amazing guide who points out all the nuances of the smallest detail as we walked the 8 km round trip trail. He is a walking encyclopedia of history.

The SIQ is a 1.8 km narrow passage of the most amazing sandstone rock formations. The mountains are on a base of granite. There are numerous colours throughout the rock. The Nabataeans used the mountains to build caves to be used as tombs, many with symbolic carvings around them. They also built an elaborate aqua duct system to collect and funnel water. After passing through the SIQ we came into an opening where we could appreciate the Treasury carved into the wall of the mountain. To carve they had to start at the top and work down. The details that went into the proportions to get just the right perspective from the ground is amazing. It is 128 feet tall and 85

feet wide. During the Iraq war, tourism in Jordan came to a halt and they decided to escalate around the Treasury. What they found was hundreds of tombs.

We then continued on to the end of Petra walking past the Amphitheatre, the Silk Tomb, the Palace tombs and the Great Temple. All amazing structures built millions of years ago.

We had lunch at a restaurant at the end of Petra and retraced our steps back out. There was an option to continue on another 2:5 km round trip trail to the Monastery but it included 800 steps going uphill and then back down so we elected to skip that part. We learned later that you could ride a donkey in and out.

All along the way there were people offering donkey or camel rides back out. At the Treasury there were horse and buggy rides to take tourists back up the hills to almost the entrance. In the narrow passageways of the SIQ we often had to stand to the side to let the horses past. Then the horse and buggy rides ended and you could ride just a horse back to the top. Quite an entrepreneurial system to keep lots of people employed. There was even a company hired to sit along the route to clean up from the horses.

We wanted to be able to say we had walked in and out so we continued on our own steam. We were drenched in sweat by the time we finished in the high 30 degree midday heat. Unusually high temperatures for this time of year.

After a much needed shower we relaxed beside the pool at the hotel, followed by another wonderful dinner under the stars and lights of the town of Petra. It is interesting to see many of the homes with lighted decorations for Ramadan, similar to our Christmas lights.