Petra (Jordan)

...ancient city runs like this. Petra was first established sometime around the 6th century BC, by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and laid the foundations of a commercial empire that extended as far as Syria and Saudi Arabia. Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to bring Petra under the control of their respective empires, Petra remained largely in Nabataean ...
...century, but soon withdrew, leaving Petra to the local people until the early 19th century, when the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited it.

For all of its past glories, most of Petra's structures are long fallen to dust. Once the canyons and rock walls that provide the foundation for the ancient trade centre boasted colonnades and paved streets, a tangle of shops and houses brimming with life and colour, now they live ... more

"... match me such a marvel, save in Eastern clime
A rose-red city, half as old as time."

These are the words that Dean Burgen was inspired to write about one of the most mystical and magical locations of the ancient near east. The Jordanian site known to history as Petra, lies about 3-5 hours south of modern capital of Amman and about 2 hours north of Aqaba, the countries only port, on the edges of the mountainous desert of the Wadi Araba. There is a modern town of about 15 thousand inhabitants perched on the mountainsides and valley floor of the region and the landscape alone is breathtaking before you even consider the ancient grandeur that lies hidden within its keep. The surrounding mountains are of such scale and otherworldly design that the film "Mission to Mars" was actually filmed here to simulate the geography of the red planet.

A brief history of the ancient city runs like this. Petra was first established sometime around the 6th century BC, by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and laid the foundations of a commercial empire that extended as far as Syria and Saudi Arabia. Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to bring Petra under the control of their respective empires, Petra remained largely in Nabataean hands until around 100AD, when the Romans under emperor Trajan took over. It was still inhabited during the Byzantine period, when the former Roman empire moved its focus east to Constantinople, but declined in importance thereafter. The Crusaders constructed a fort there in the 12th century, but soon withdrew, leaving Petra to the local people until the early 19th century, when the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited it.

For all of its past glories, most of Petra's structures are long fallen to dust. Once the canyons and rock walls that provide the foundation for the ancient trade centre boasted colonnades and paved streets, a tangle of shops and houses brimming with life and colour, now they live only in the imagination of the visitor, their ghosts walking with you as you imagine their lives. Although the living part of the city, the Acropolis, is gone, what remains of this once 25, 000 strong city is its Necropolis, its "City of the Dead". Carved into the very walls of the multi coloured canyon are the facades that make up the tombs of its inhabitants. It is easy to view the whole place as a funery site, for the reason that today that is all that we see on view, but if you let your imagination, or a good guide book, aid you the vibrant ancient streets return to their former glories.

From the official entrance to the site, a dusty trail leads gently downwards along the Wadi Musa (The Valley of Moses). Situated in small rock outcrops to the left and right of the path are some small Nabataean tombs, carved into the dry rock. Beyond these, walls of sandstone rise steeply on the left, and a narrow cleft reveals the entrance to the Siq, the principal route into Petra itself. Siq, means cleft or channel and the entrance to the site is very narrow in some places, making this name very appropriate for this ancient geological fault line. The Nabataeans were expert hydraulic engineers. The walls of the Siq are lined with channels (originally fitted with chamfered clay pipes of efficient design) to carry drinking water to the city, while a dam to the right of the entrance diverted an adjoining stream through a tunnel to prevent it flooding the Siq. Flash flooding in this area has always been a problem in these mountainous valleys and in the 1960s, much of the anti flooding work that the Nabataeans had built was re-established to make the region safe once more. As you enter the Siq you will begin to appreciate the natural beauty of the site which Im sure was one of the factors that drew the original inhabitants to settle here. The natural ore in the Sandstone rocks presents an vast array of colours, the natural iron gives a red tint to much of it and other ores such as copper and sulphur add yellows and blues, greens and browns that make for a marbled effect through out the canyon.

Once inside, the Siq narrows to little more than five metres in width, while the walls tower up hundreds of metres on either side. The floor, originally paved, is now largely covered with soft sand, although evidence of Nabataean paving slabs can still be seen in some places along side more modern reconstruction. The Siq twists and turns, the high walls all but shutting out the early morning sunlight, until abruptly, through a cleft in the rock, the first glimpse of the city of Petra can be seen. Carved out of pale reddish sandstone, ornate pillars supporting a portico surmounted by a central urn and two flanking blocks jut out from the cliff face ahead. The best known of the monuments at Petra, the Khazneh is also the first to greet the visitor arriving via the Siq. The facade, carved out from the sandstone cliff wall, is 40m high, and is remarkably well-preserved, probably because the confined space in which it was built has protected it somewhat from the effects of erosion. The name Khazneh, which means 'treasury', comes from the legend that it was used as a hiding place for treasure. In the past tribesman have come here to fire bullets at the ornamentation in the hope that they will break open a secret storage place and the treasures held within will poor down from above. This obviously never happened but the legacy of the legend means that the façade is peppered with bullet holes, which have irrevocably damaged much of its architecture. In practice, it seems to have been something between a temple and a tomb, possibly both at once. If the approach to the treasury from the Siq seems somewhat familiar to you it is because it is used as a film location in a wide array of projects. The most famous use of its visual impact is as a back drop to the closing scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but don't expect the inside of the treasury to match the film in the same way, that bit is pure Hollywood.

Behind the impressive facade, a large square room has been carved out of the rock of the cliff. The corners and walls have been squared off meticulously, but no attempt has been made to extend the excavations further or to reproduce the kind of ornate carving of the exterior. This is typical of the tombs in Petra; the interiors are as plain as the exteriors are intricate. From inside, you can look out through the doorway towards the Siq. What is remarkable about this plain tomb though is the natural array of colours that is to be found running through the walls and ceiling of the room. No artist or craftsman could have made a more glorious interior than the one that nature provided. Surrounding the open space dominated by the Khazneh are other tombs and halls mostly little more than man-made caves carved out from the rock.

To the right, the path continues between more widely spaced rock walls studded with smaller tombs, which are visible as black holes in the rock. A little further on, on the left is the giant semicircle of the amphitheatre, which had seats for eight thousand people. This area is a legacy of the Roman period and whilst impressive is a shadow of its former self. The original front wall that would have partitioned of the building is no longer present, but what remains still marks a breath taking feat of construction.

North from the Khazneh lies the massif of Jebel Khubtha and at this point, three large structures, known as the Royal Tombs have been carved into the rock face, which is known as the King's Wall. It is unclear which kings are referred to, or whether this is simply another popular name with no basis in historical fact. After some smaller tombs, the next major structure is the badly weathered Corinthian Tomb, which resembles a smaller version of the Khazneh, followed by the Palace Tomb, which was built in imitation of a Roman palace. The facade of this tomb is also badly weathered, and the rooms behind are small and undecorated.

Although the descriptions I give here seem to suggest that Petra is a lot of the same thing over and over again, well it is. But that's not to say that even after seeing twenty of these facades, they will become boring. Even the smallest of the carvings are an experience to behold, especially when seen in their location and context, and the biggest of them take your breath away every time.

If like most people who visit the site you are only here for a day trip, this is probably the limit of what you will see, but it is only a fraction. As our guide Waleel put it so succinctly, " I have given you a bit of the apple, one day you must come back to savour the rest of the fruit". For there is a lot more to see, but really you need to be based in the area and be prepared to spend a whole day or even to the bask in its glory. For example, some distance away from the Royal Tombs, to the north, there is one more tomb, which was built in AD 130 for the Roman governor of the city under Hadrian, Sextius Florentinus. This is a much more modest affair, a 6 metre facade in front of a small chamber in which the administrator was presumably buried. The facade is badly weathered, but the patterns in the exposed sandstone are striking.. The heart of Petra lies about the open ground of the Wadi Musa. A broad track from the Khazneh leads to the main street of Roman Petra, which was paved with cut stone and lined with columns. Towards the amphitheatre is an open marketplace and a nymphaeum or public fountain. At the opposite end is the Temenos Gateway, which marked the entrance to the courtyard of the Temple of Dushara. The Temple, popularly known as the Qasr al-Bint Firaun ("The Castle of Pharaoh's Daughter"), was a large free-standing structure, built of massive blocks of yellow sandstone. It has been extensively restored. Dushara was the principal god of the Nabataeans; his partner, the fertility goddess Atagartis, was worshipped at the Temple of the Winged Lions, which faces the Temple of Dushara from a low rise to the north-east of the Temenos gateway. In Roman times, these temples would have been taken over for the worship of the appropriate Roman gods, possibly Apollo and Artemis respectively. In the city's Byzantine period, it is likely that they were also adapted for Christian worship. The Temple, popularly known as the Qasr al-Bint Firaun ("The Castle of Pharaoh's Daughter"), was a large free-standing structure, built of massive blocks of yellow sandstone. It has been extensively restored. Dushara was the principal god of the Nabataeans; his partner, the fertility goddess Atagartis, was worshipped at the Temple of the Winged Lions, which faces the Temple of Dushara from a low rise to the north-east of the Temenos gateway. In Roman times, these temples would have been taken over for the worship of the appropriate Roman gods, possibly Apollo and Artemis respectively. In the city's Byzantine period, it is likely that they were also adapted for Christian worship.

Most travel companies that arrange holidays in the Gulf of Aqaba/Red Sea area offer trips to this site, whether based in Egypt, Israel or Jordan itself and most will be a one day affair to the tune of about £40 sterling. I can personally recommend Longwood as an agent for this trip, but there are many others who Im sure run equally enjoyable visits to the site. The only warning that I will give is that it is not best suited to those who have problems walking great distances. That said its not a massive exertion, is paced at a gentle stroll and if you really cant face the thought of trudging through on foot, there is a buggy ride on offer, though you probably lose out from not having a knowledgable tour guide with you.

 

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