Petra

  Petra, Jordan
Saturday, June 28, 2008

Today we were up early. Marjolaine and I were sorry to find that our daughter Fiona was feeling quite ill in the morning, exhausted by the grueling schedule we've been keeping so far. Along with the other volunteers, she worked a very full schedule at the Al Rajef school and she had just reached her limit. She decided that as much as she wanted to see Petra, she'd better stay behind and rest. We were sorry she couldn't make that visit, but in the end she made the right decision.
 
On the schedule was a full-day visit of Petra, the capital of the Kingdom of Edom, until the Edomites were displaced by the Nabateans around the second century BC. They left most of the impressive facades around the interior of this natural fortress, although some date from the Roman period, after the Romans subjugated the Nabateans in the 2nd century AD.
 
From the ticket booth there is a about a half mile walk down to the Siq, the famous entryway into Petra.

On the way to the Siq

It is a narrow gorge, sometimes the sides are only 6-8 feet apart, but a hundred feet and more high. The Siq was not originally formed by water erosion, but by tectonic forces that actually split this mountain in two and forced the two sides apart. The layers of colored rock on both sides of the twisting passage were strikingly beautiful. In places, low along both walls there were small canals cut into the rock to channel water from the infrequent rains to cisterns.

Dave Baker and me in the Siq

The Nabateans built enough cisterns and supporting channels to support a population of over 30,000 people in this arid climate.
 
Finally, a marvelous walk of over a kilometer, well over half a mile, the Siq opened up to the famous façade called the Treasury.

Our fist glimpse of the Treasury

It is world famous; the most visible monument in all of Petra, and for the younger generation is famous for appearing in the film Indiana Jones and the Final Crusade, as the resting place of the Holy Grail.  We got the group together for a photo in front of the Treasury and then gave everyone the option of walking with us or of breaking up into smaller groups and exploring alone. We reminded them of the main sites, not to be missed, and agreed to meet back at 4:00 at the ticket counter. As it happened, all the young folks decided to explore on their own. Perhaps they doubted our climbing ability, and in Petra, one has to climb to see the most spectacular sites.

Several of the girls rented camels for the ride from near the Treasury, down the Roman Cardo, to the great Nabatean temple, and past the restaurants to the base of the climb up to the Monastery.

Tatiana, Kristen and Melea try camel transport

It was clear they were having lots of fun on the camels and they set off down the path.
 
The three of us (David Baker, Marjolaine and I) walked down the street of facades to the Theater which was built by the Nabateans and improved by the Romans. Then we walked back a few steps to the start of the climb to the High Place of Sacrifice. It is a steep 45 minute climb. We witnessed one woman slip on the steps and fall, but just straight down, not over any edge. Finally arriving at the top we had a beautiful view of the whole valley, and could even make out the top part of the Monastery façade slightly above our height on a mountain across the valley.  In the distance to the west, we could see the white-painted roof of the monument called Aaron's tomb, on top of Jebel Harun. Of course it is not possible with certainty to know if Aaron truly died and was truly buried there, but it appears possible based on Num. 20:22-29 and Num. 33:37.
 
We could also see very nearby Mt. Seir, called Umm el-Biyara, which towers 300 meters (about 1000 feet) above the Petra valley floor. Of this place the Chronicles state "Then Amaziah strengthened himself, and leading his people, he went to the Valley of Salt and killed ten thousand of the people of Seir. Also the children of Judah took captive ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were dashed in pieces." (2 Chron.25:11-12). Amaziah was the 8th king of the separate kingdom of Judah, about 800 BC or 200 years after David. That is very sobering history to contemplate.

Marjolaine and me on the High Place of Sacrifice

 
The High Place itself has two sacrificial areas; one has a sort of bowl carved in the rock, to catch and channel the blood of the victim.
 
We took in the views and then walked down on the other side of the mountain to view some of the famous tombs and carvings of Petra. The number of facades, tombs, banqueting halls and so on is quite amazing. At least three archeological excavations are still ongoing, which we saw as we passed.

Our YC volunteers returning from the Monastery

Lunch in one of the only two restaurants in Petra seemed quite expensive to us, especially since we weren't that hungry due to the heat and the need to guzzle water, so we just had a cold beverage and snacked on nuts to have a breather before starting the climb up to the Monastery. This is a harder climb than to the High Place of Sacrifice, but worth it. The Monastery is a beautiful façade in a tranquil place. The Bedouins have somehow managed to transport a refrigerator and power supply of some sort up here, so it is possible to have a cold soft drink on arrival (only $3 a can thank you), but after such a stiff climb, it seemed worth it. After enjoying the visit inside and out, we started back down, and met the rest of the group near the theater.

Resting at the end of the day

We walked back to the Treasury to take some photos in different light, and then trudged back out the Siq and back up to the ticket booth where the bus driver met us for the ride back to the hotel.  We allowed the volunteers to spend more time in Wadi Musa for those who chose to do so, asking only that everyone go at least two together and that they be back at the hotel by sunset, which is about 7:45. We were footsore, tired and dehydrated in spite of drinking copious amounts of water all day, but also enchanted by the beauty and history we had been able to see.