After an early breakfast we left Amman for a 3 hour bus ride to Petra. We took the less scenic route through the desert to save some time, but you don’t travel very far anywhere in Jordan without going through the desert. Approximately 85% of the land area is desert. It was interesting to observe speed bumps in the middle of the highway in the middle of nowhere. Also, there were occasionally police cars on the side of the road with their lights flashing, just to slow down the traffic.
Upon arrival we drove through modern day Petra, home to a number of hotels and restaurants for all the tourists.
View of downtown Petra.
Man on street in traditional Arab dress.
Residential area of Petra showing Jordanian housing.
More upscale home with rebar and columns extending from the roof. Many Arab families plan for the oldest son to move back into the house after he is married, so the columns are to make adding another floor easier.
Petra was founded in the 4th century B.C. by the Nabatean people who left northeastern Arabia in the 6th century B.C. and lived in this area by raiding caravans and neighboring kingdoms. They eventually established urban centers along the spice and incense caravan routes and built a giant trading empire. The capital was established at Petra. After the 12th century Petra was abandoned and forgotten until the early 1800’s when the “lost city of stone” was rediscovered.
Ancient Petra is entered through a mile long valley and canyon called El-Siq. The Nabateans dug tombs in the sandstone cliffs and then carved elaborate facades in the cliffs, some as high as 120 feet. Considering the primitive tools they had to work with, the beauty is almost unbelievable. I’m afraid the photos don’t capture the rich colors in the stone and details of the carvings.
The Obelisk Tomb. This is one of the first we encountered and to be honest, I wasn’t so impressed. Was I to be surprised later on.
High on many of the facades were these “stairways to heaven.”
Along the route we met a few goats and sheep. Tough to find something eat in those rocks.
Here we enter the narrow portion of the entrance to the ancient city. The trough cut into the wall on the left was the way they got water from a stream into the city proper.
Cliffs worn from water and wind erosion over the centuries.
For those who didn’t want to walk there were donkey carts available. Several people walked in and rode the carts back out. It was about 5 miles total walk, so most us walked the whole route.
An example of the colorful stones in El-Siq.
This is our first glimpse of the crown jewel of the facades of Petra, called The Treasury.
Full view of The Treasury, the most ornate tomb in Petra.
This photo of some of the detail gives a better picture of The Treasury’s color, a beautiful pick sandstone.
More carving details at The Treasury.
An amphitheater which would seat 7,000 people.
Caves which were used for dwellings, storage, animals, etc.
Colors in the rock formations.
Some of the Royal Tombs.
Royal Tomb called the Urn Tomb.
Non-walkers could also choose a camel ride to go back to the entrance. My butt didn’t have any desire to do that.
Waiting for someone to rent his camel for a ride back.
Susan with one of the attendants at The Treasury. Actually his job was to pose for tourist photos.
Tom among the ruins of the city itself. You can see the influence of Roman architecture.
One of the Indiana Jones movies was filmed at Petra, so a merchant outside the entrance took advantage of it. I’m sure no royalties are being paid.
We had a long bus ride back to Amman but we did manage a break at a little tourist shop where I made a purchase.
Getting fitted in a kefiyah by Assam.
Just call me Yasser Tom.
Sun sets in the Jordanian desert as we return to Amman for the night.
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