The magical lost city of Petra- One of the Seven New Wonders of the World

We were looking forward to Petra as a highlight of our trip and were surprised to be even more impressed than we anticipated.

From the entrance (where tour buses abound), it's just a bunch of rocks. Quite attractive rocks, but ones that give no hint to what is behind them.

Our driver excorted us to the ticket booth and arranged for a certified local guide. Sakher recognized that we would have problems pronouncing his name, so he told us we could call him Rock, as that is what Sakher means. It was a good start.

As we walked along the narrow 1.2 km pathway from the entrance into the lost city, Rock explained the known history of the city built and eventually abandoned by the Nabateans. It's believed to have been home to about 30,000 people. I asked Rock about the current number of inhabitants of the town around Petra- it's about 30,000. 

          


Although it flourished for the first centuries BC to AD as a vital trading centre because of its ideal position along the silk trading route, there is no evidence to say what happened to the city or its inhabitants. There are no records and no Nabatean peoples (although apparently, some folk like to claim that heritage). The site remained uninhabited and unknown for centuries until it was rediscovered in 1812. Even after over 200 years, there is still much that has not been restored. In fact, it's estimated that only 5% of the city has been uncovered.

Our guide showed us channels that the Nabateans had carved into the rock to bring water to the city. Many of the channels are still intact. 

The gorge was carved out of the soft sandstone by rushing waters over centuries. Rock was excited to learn what Barry had to say about sequence stratigraphy and sequence boundaries which tell how the sands were deposited. (Barry has now guest lectured on many of our trips around the world.)

We also learned about the Nabateans and their open-mindedness; they carved niches in the rock along the pathways to house gods of various cultures and religions.

Most of the structures that remain are tombs. Some contained more ordinary citizens and some contained the weatlthy, but the Nabateans, unlike the Egyptians, did not bury treasure or riches with their dead.

Most of the representation of various gods were destroyed due to intolerance.

                                    the sandals on this figure speak of wealth

At the end of the pathway is the Siq, a plaza which gives view to the most well-known monument in Petra. Known as The Treasury, although it was also a tomb for an unidentified king. It is 13 stories high, and carved, not built, into the sandstone from the top to the bottom. The architecture is Greek in style.





We carried on to view the other amazing features- the Roman theatre, the street of facades, and the Urn Tomb amoung others.




We loved it.

After an exciting day, we returned to our hotel room with its lovely view and turned in early because we had another Big Day ahead of us.






Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 21, 2023 at 9:34 PM

    Thanks for the trip down memory lane(s)!

    ReplyDelete

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