My attempts to get more quickly caught up on the blog have been waylaid by load shedding/rolling blackouts, very poor or non-existent internet at some stops, lots of driving, and me forgetting a laptop in one spot and us needing to circle back which was thankfully still doable. But these are all stories for another blog post. This post is all about amazing Petra!
Petra has been made famous by a few movies, the most famous being Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It does have some fabulous ruins from the Nabatean culture, but it is also beautiful rock formations and canyons. The two together make for a memorable visit.
This is an overview outside of Petra which gave us a sense of the canyons and hills we would be entering.
The Siq
The Siq is the 1.2 km long canyon/gorge that was one of the primary entrances into Petra. It is beautiful to walk through getting quite narrow at times and averaging around 100m in height.
Walking with our guide to the entrance. Our guide was actually one of the archeologists that worked on a dig in front of The Treasury, so it was great to have him explain Petra.
There was a channel carved through the canyon on both sides to direct water into the city. It is mostly an exposed trench now, but parts still show interlocking tubes and stone coverings to keep the water protected and fresh. There were also numerous carvings along the way, some of them washed out due to repeated flooding in the canyon until they restored a dam at the beginning of the Siq that mimicked what the Nabatean had done. One of the large ones was this caravan of merchants and camels that were only partially washed away.
The famous first view of The Treasury from the end of the Siq.
The Treasury (Al-Khazneh)
The Treasury is so named because centuries after Petra was abandoned, people started to believe this elaborate carving into the sandstone rock was used to hide treasure. That belief continued even into early 1900s and you can see bullet holes on the top urn of the carving which people thought was hollow and therefore tried to shoot holes into it to allow the treasure to flow out. It is in fact, solid stone. They now know, it is really a mausoleum and our guide explained to us that the true burial chambers were underneath the large visible carving and most likely they were intentionally buried to hide them from grave robbers. In other words, distract them with the upper carvings to help hide the buried ones but still leave a monument.
Our guide explaining some of the work he had done and then seeing the end results through grates in front of The Treasury.
The Treasury and looking back at the Siq from the courtyard.
Petra City
Though the treasury is really famous, it really is just the beginning. The canyon continues past the treasury and slowly widens out into this large open valley/basin where the actual city of Petra was located.
I had seen pictures from my parents when they had visited but it is hard to grasp how many niches and carvings there are in Petra without actually being there. There are just holes everywhere, some still in use today, like this little coffee shop.
Some of the facades on the way into town and the amphitheater, both just before the basin.
A number of the royal tombs. The picture on the right above shows the water channel they often cut to try and preserve the front faces from erosion.
The inside and ceiling of this royal tomb really shows the different colours and patterns of some of the rock in the area of Petra.
Looking back toward the Royal Tombs and then down towards one of the temples.
Like many ancient cities, there are different time periods represented in the ruins. Here is the remains of a Byzantine church with a mosaic floor.
Below is a video panorama showing the scope of just the central basin part of Petra.
The Monastery (Ad Deir)
Another 800 steps up a wadi from the main central basin is the second most famous carving in Petra: The Monastery. This one might actually have originally been created as part of a religious complex in that area and they think it might also have been used by the Byzantines as a church. So in this case, calling it The Monastery is at least a more accurate name then The Treasury was.
Lots of steps!
Beauty even in the details.
A quick visit to the Lion Triclinium along the way. You really have to squint, but supposedly the doorway was two lion heads facing each other, however it is so worn away, you notice the shape of the hole and not the rocks creating the hole.
With vendors along most of the walkways of Petra, even on the hike to/from the Monastery, there was also opportunity for a little bit of shopping.
The Monastery!
Unlike the Treasury, you could get right up to the entrance of the Monastery to get a better look inside. It was bigger than the Treasury, but similar in that when compared to the outside, the inside is very subdued.
Having hiked over 5kms already, we had to convince ourselves to go another 100+ steps up to the lookout point. Part way up, the view back to see the Monastery was already worth the extra effort.
All the way up gave a great view of the surrounding countryside and it was definitely worth it as well.
Now for the trip all the way back to the entrance!
Everyone was ready for a break when we got back to the gate entrance.
Petra was bigger than we all expected and was very impressive.