Oct 16 – Petra

We were first introduced to the Nabataean people in Israel when we visited Avdat, a fortress held by the Nabataeans when they controlled much of the trade route from Petra to Gaza.  Neither of us had heard of the Nabataeans before this trip.  However, they were apparently a very powerful state during a few centuries before Christ. 

They were originally a nomadic Bedouin tribe that eventually converted their knowledge of the desert to being able to control the routes across the deserts.  They provided guiding services across the deserts and were able to collect taxes and guide fees from the caravans passing through what was called the Incense Road.   They became quite powerful and wealthy.  They were eventually folded into the Roman Empire. 

And Petra was their capital.  Much of it was built in the 3^rd century BC.  There are both Hellenistic and Roman elements in the city. 

A map of Petra.

Have always seen pictures and wanted to see this place...but the reality far exceeded the expectations.  The place is enormous.  And the work that went into building this some 2,300 years ago just boggles the mind.  And most of the site was built by carving everything out of the living rock.  Only the temple and the free standing building are not carved from the stone.  Even the theater was carved straight out of the hillside.

We headed out first thing to join the throngs of sightseers at the entrance.  The entrance had a number of souvenir shops...many touting an Indian Jones theme, as one of those movies had some key scenes here.  

The main walk down (2 km to the Treasury) with a long line of tourists snaking down into the valley.  

The route took us by massive square cubes of stone called the Djin Blocks (God Blocks).  Historians and archaeologist don’t really know what they are for other than the name may come from the Arabic word for Spirit. 

We also saw a number of tombs (carved caves).  The wealthy carved very elaborate facades for their tombs.  

One of the larger ones on the route was the Obelisk Tomb.  This one showed definite Egyptian influences. 

Shortly after we arrived at the mouth of the Al Siq, the main entrance into Petra.  At this entrance was The Tunnel.  This massive tunnel was carved by the Nabateans as a flash flood diversion tunnel.  The area gets little rain but when it does the floods can be massive.  This tunnel is part of a water control system that includes dams and aqueducts found in the valley. 

At the entrance to the Al Siq we could see a small bit of the arch that used to mark the entrance.  The arch fell during an earthquake and only this small bit remains.

We were greeted at the entrance by a couple of Nabatean sentries.  

Much of the Al Siq was narrow with steep, high rock walls.  It is basically a crack in the mountain that formed when tectonic forces pulled the mountain apart.  Sometimes you could see how the two sides of the cliffs could fit together like puzzle pieces.  It was relatively cool inside as the sun couldn’t reach down to the walkway.

A couple of young men were seen climbing up the pretty sheer rocks.

We saw various types of dams…

and aqueducts carved into the sides of the stone walls near the base of the cliffs that allowed water running off the cliffs to be collected and diverted to water storage areas. 

In a few places you could see the original stone road surface.

And this musician was serenading the tourists for tips.

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More Al Siq
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And then we reached The Treasury (Al Khazneh).  It gets its name, The Treasury, from the belief that an Egyptian pharaoh hid his treasure in the urn at the top (not true).  The building and its front terrace were closed off to prevent damage by the adoring public.

The open space in front of The Treasury was crawling with tourists and locals with their camels…so you could get a photo of yourself on a camel in front of the façade.  We passed.

Tara and Salem (our guide pronounced Sah-Lem...accent on the last syllable) had arranged with a friend of his, Ahmed, to have donkeys for us for part of the trip as it will be a long day with a lot of hiking and inclines.  He assured us that the donkeys were very sure footed and that they were professional.  (LOL)  Mary mounted (rather ungracefully) to ride some of the rougher areas.  Her donkey’s name is Monica.  The other two are Jack and Susanna.  (Not very Arabic names.) 

As an aside, we later saw this cute baby donkey.  

These facades are the fronts of tombs…and there were a lot.

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More Tombs
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We also visited the Painted Caves…all sandstone with various minerals.  And it was beautiful.

There was also as theater that seats 7,000.  Instead of being constructed of stone blocks it was carved directly into the mountainside. 

We also visited the 5^th century Petra Church with its beautiful mosaic floors…

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More Mosaic Floors
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and the adjacent Baptistry.

Nearby was a Frankincense and Myrrh shop.  Both of these are fragrant resins and are extremely valuable.  They were traded on the ancient Incense Road. 

Myrrh Soap

Myrrh Soap

Frankincense Soap

Then we headed over to The Basin (on the way).

The Basin was a large open area...

with the Great Temple…

And the Qasr al Bint temple.  This temple is the only freestanding building in Petra.  All of the others are rock-carved.

We stopped here for lunch…very good falafel wraps.  I'd not want to have to carry this tray.

Nearby was a row of Royal Tombs.

This one is called the Urn Tomb because of the urn at the entrance.  

We then all mounted our donkeys and headed out to a back entrance to the park.  We took a "short cut" out (didn't have to walk back the way we came) but it was up hill all the way so the donkeys earned their keep.  And we were all thankful for their assistance.    

Along the way we stopped at the Turkman Tomb. 

Eventually we were at the top of the hill near the new village.  We paused to take photos and the donkeys headed off home without their owner.   And as Ahmad, their owner, repeated more than once...we didn't need to worry about them because they were professionals and knew their way home.  😆

Awesomely beautiful flower we saw on the trails.

We were back in the hotel by late afternoon.  Mary was a bit saddle sore so stayed in the room and had fruit for dinner.  Paul and Tara went to the Petra Museum and spent time there and then ate dinner at a nearby restaurant before heading back to the hotel in a taxi.

It was a very good day for all of use.  A major bucket list item checked off the list.