Dears,

Today there will be a short and somewhat special report from Petra, Jordan.

Long time ago (from VI century BCE until VII century CE) the areas of what is today the southern Israel and Jordan where populated by Nabataeans. I did mention them when I showed you pics from the ruins of Mamshit . You may find lots of information on the Nabataeans here - I will also refer to some sub-pages of that service later. Let me just say that originally Nabataeans were a nomadic tribe, but they discovered profits coming from trade, farming and urbanization and they built a quite strong nation. They stood up to Rome and some other regional powers. In the first century CE they were allies of the Romans, but in 106 CE Trajan eliminated their independence (without any resistance) and created Arabia Petraea. Nabataeans were christianized in IV century CE. In the seventh century CE their areas were conquered by Caliph `Umar ibn al-Khattab and soon the Nabataeans were assimilated/dissolved into the Arabic tribes coming from the South.

The Nabataeans built several cities and their capital Petra was at some time a very important economical and cultural center. Today, the ruins of Petra are considered as one of the must see treasures of human civilization (and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

Last week I visited Petra. That was a very short trip and I saw only a very small sample of what is there, but even this small sample impressed me very much. I know I will have to come there again for longer. Some info on the wonders not listed in my report below can be found here.

Petra is located in Jordan, some 2 hours drive North from the port city of Aqaba. For those starting the trip from Israel, the natural way of going there involves the following steps: (1) going to Eilat,

(2) crossing the border with Jordan there
(3) entering Aqaba
and looking at Eilat from the other side		(4) driving North through Jordanian mountains and desert

After some drive we see more interesting mountains      and later, when we see shops named after Indiana Jones      , we know our destination is close. (This Indiana Jones business is because of the Last Crusade.)

After entering the archaeological park of Petra we walk for some 40 minutes on a road in a valley     . On our left hand side there is a lane for horses (it is on the right on the picture as it was taken when looking back). One can rent a horse there and ride the small distance, but it is much nicer to walk and watch the rocks and caves:

Our guide claimed that all caves in the region were used by humans. Some were used as housing, other as tombs. Supposedly it is easy to say what was the use of a cave: that used as tombs have decorations and engravings, that used for housing are plain and uninteresting....

Then we arrive to the first great stuff - Al Siq     . It is a very impressive and beautiful canyon:

with aqueducts on both sides
several sites devoted to old gods
and some non-religious art (look carefully - there is a camel caravan there)

Al Sid is gorgeous and just walking it would make a person happy. But then after about a kilometer of wonderful views we arrive to the end of the gorge and are struck by one of the most impressive pictures - a glimpse of a magic building       This structure is the facade of a very mysterious Treasury. What was it and what was its use we do not know. Maybe the only purpose of the Treasury was to make an strong impression on the visitors?

Facade of the Treasury:
entrances to side rooms:			I am standing by the columns

The Treasury marks the beginning of the city of Petra. The part right after the entrance is actually a necropolis. There is a lot of caves that served as burial places for the poor and the rich. Of course, those who were richer and more powerful were buried in much nicer places then the simple folks.

Some of the tombs are on the Street of Facades:
other are somewhat uphill and at a distance, these are the Royal Tombs

There are several gift shops in that part          Walking further we pass the Theater (the seats were cut in the rock):

The Theater marks (more or less) the border between the necropolis and metropolis.

Then we walk by Cardo or The Colonnade Street:
soon arriving to The Temple of Dushares

There is a restaurant near the Dushares temple. We stopped there for a short lunch and - very unfortunately - that essentially finished our visit to Petra. We had to go back. Still, I decided to have one more experience: a camel ride.

Camels were coming in pairs
so I rode an animal tied to another animal
still, I rode a camel:

That's it for the moment. The next report will appear in a week (or so). Let me point out that soon I am leaving Israel for Omaha and my next report will be the last report from this stay in Israel.

Best, Andrzej

PS: The Polish version of this report is available here.

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Last modified: Thu Nov 30 13:09:13 IST 2006