Petra - The Rose-red City.

The one place not to be missed while in Jordan, Petra is most deservedly on the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Sculpted out of towering rock walls by a desert tribe called the Nabateans who settled in the area around the 6th century BC, Petra is an imposing, and spectacular ruin of breathtaking beauty.

Our journey started in the early morning heading through an area called Bab as-Siq (Gateway) which gives you a glimpse of wonders to come - Djinn blocks (possibly tombs) and also obelisks. And then you pass by an arch and enter another world - the Siq is like a canyon floor about 2 kms in length that wends it way between soaring walls of sandstone - sometimes the pathway is a few metres wide and sometimes only a metre wide, requiring a squeeze and a duck when a carriage clips past you. The Siq was not formed by water but was wrenched apart by tectonic forces, leading to inexplicable turns and views. Always with you are the glimpses of sunlight and blue sky way above. There is artistry all around - from the ancient carvings still visible in rock walls, to the channels that brought water to its inhabitants 2000 years ago. The most spectacular of all - the myriad of colours swirling like paintings within the rock face. Petra is called "The Rose-red City" because of the range of colours that blend and transform with the shifting sunlight. The air is electric, probably reflecting our own excitement at being in this serene quietness, inspired by awesome nature. The walk builds to a dramatic end with a partial view of the Treasury (Al-Khazneh) just as you turn a corner - it truly is a magical introduction to this ancient city.


The Treasury is almost beyond imagination - it is a vast facade carved out of sandstone rock that is astonishing in its artistry and grandeur. Even in the less crowded time of early morning, we are confronted by a crowd of onlookers gazing in hushed silence at the tall columns, dark entrance ways and delicate carvings. All of us pause, trying to take it all in, and find it impossible to do so. The question in my mind repeated itself - "How is this possible?" The date this gigantic memorial was constructed - 100 BC to 200 AD and there is still so much of it for us to see. And the scenes around us - camels kneeling down for tourists to clamber up; donkeys braying; Bedouins selling beads, postcards and rides; old-fashioned horse and carts trundling the unfit, the weary and the old; and stately Desert Army soldiers standing proudly in full regalia.

Hardly able to leave this captivating place, we hike further along through the Street of Facades and the Theatre cut out of rock three storeys high. We trace the Wadi Musa river bed and find the Royal Tombs standing like sentries lined up against the mountainside. Another km further, we walk down the Colonnaded Street, with the Royal Palace on our left and pass through the Temenos Gateway for wonderful view of the Great Temple and the Byzantine Church.


Our final destination - the Monastery, called Al-Deir by the locals. To reach it, we were obliged to climb the 900 steps of a manmade rock-cut pathway that follows the ancient processional route. Only for the fit or the foolish, we slowly made our way high up into the mountains, stopping every so often to catch our breathe again, and to take in moments that took our breathe away - deep chasms just alongside, sweeping views of the valley below us, Bedouin goats clambering on the rockface above us, and always sculpted sandstone and sheer cliffs. The most endearing sight - a weathered Bedouin woman with her young children lying under a goathair tent selling beadwork, an open fire and tea brewing beside her .... and a cell phone to her ear in garrulous conversation with someone far away. At the Monastery, a place for sacred ceremonies, you come upon a structure even bigger than the Treasury and you can only stare in wonder all over again. Once you can pull yourself away, a short walk brings you to the edge of the world - a lookout point where you can see Jericho and Jerusalem on a clear day.



It was very difficult to take that last glimpse of the Treasury as we made our way back through the Siq to the real world again.


This place has left its mark on us, imprinting itself in our memory banks as one of the most extraordinary adventures we have yet had the privilege of experiencing.
Ma'a Salaamah.