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So wrote John William Burgon in his epic 19th-century poem Petra. These lines had for years imbued in me a longing to visit that once-lost city.
A three-hour journey southward from Jordan’s capital Amman brought me to the town of Wadi Musa, where Moses supposedly struck a rock and water gushed forth. Its population of 12,000 lives off the hundreds of thousands who travel each year to Petra, the country’s number-one tourist attraction some 262 kilometres (160 miles) from Amman.
My first stop was the Petra Visitor’s Centre, which provides a two-and-a-half-hour tour of the city including a guide and a horse led by a young lad. As I rode through a narrow valley edged on both sides by reddish cliffs, my guide Muhammad, on a purebred Arabian mare, related the history of this renowned city.
Petra was carved out of rose-red rock beginning about 500 BC by the mainly merchant Nabataean Arabs. They chose the site for their capital due to its impregnable location: surrounded by rugged sandstone hills, it could be easily protected from all directions. The only entrance was through a narrow fissure averaging about five metres (16 feet) wide and, in places, 100 metres (328 feet) high.
Straddling the major trade routes in the ancient world, its location gave the Nabataeans access to the levying of taxes on caravans that carried the frankincense and myrrh of Arabia and the silks and spices from the Far Fast to the north and west. Its inhabitants continually expanded and enriched their sandstone city until it became one of the wealthiest urban centres in the Middle East.
The fabled riches of Petra caught the attention of the empire-building Romans who, after cutting off its water supply, occupied it in 106 AD. Their sculptors continued chiselling and carving the mountain-sides until the empire fell in the third century AD. Subsequently, it faded into obscurity and for centuries was only known to a few Bedouins. In 1812, Swiss explorer Jean Burckhardt found the city, bringing it to the attention of the world.
Entering a one-and-a-half-kilometre (one-mile) awesome cleft in the sandstone, Muhammad dramatically pointed to the opening before us: “Behold the Khaznah [Treasury]!” The facade of this rose-coloured building, carved from solid rock, was stunning in its majesty. It is the most photographed structure in Petra, and is believed to have been built as a royal tomb.
From the Khaznah the fissure broadened out, its walls carved into homes, tombs and façades in a bewildering array of styles. Time and weather have eroded these creations of man, remodelling them into new structures.
A short distance from the Khaznah, we left our horses and walked. Muhammad pointed out the most important of the some 10,000 structures in Petra, 800 of these major monuments. It is estimated that the city, in its prime, had a population of about 25,000.
The Roman amphitheatre, carved out of a solid sandstone hillside, still has a firm outline, but has been greatly eroded. The nearby Street of Façades, with its many impressive frontages of tombs, held my attention for quite some time, but there were many other remains I wanted to explore.
Penetrating further into the city, I was impressed by the Urn and its neighbouring tombs. Soon we were walking on the once-colonnaded Roman Street, at whose end we stopped by the remains of the Arch of Triumph and the Temple of Dushare – the only freestanding structure in Petra. A few minutes climb, and we were examining artefacts in the Petra museum overlooking the ruins.
Walking down a series of steps, we reached the Petra Forum Tourist Restaurant. As we sipped our drinks, I was enveloped in a feeling of contentment. It was a well-earned rest.
We did not have time to examine El Deir, the Monastery – an enormous temple situated on a hillside at the end of an hour’s hike – or El Madbah, the High Place of Sacrifice, 1,035 metres (3,395 feet) above sea level, but what we saw was enough to keep us in Petra’s aura.
As I left late in the afternoon, Muhammad pointed to the reddish Nabataean structures: “See how the rays of the setting sun create a fantasy world of colour.” It was truly a bewitching sight, a captivating picture that will always stay with me.
- Tourist visas are easily available at any entry point into Jordan, except the King Hussein Bridge. These are single-entry visas and cost 10 Jordanian Dinars (£12.20). Groups of five people or more arriving through a designated Jordanian tour operator are exempt from all visa charges. All you need is your passport. Single-entry visas are officially valid for three months from the date you enter the country, but you must ‘register’ visas at a main police station within one month of your arrival.
- The simplest way to see Petra is to take an organised tour offered by excursion companies from Amman. However, you can rent a car and make the trip. The usual price for a reasonably modern small car with full insurance is around 30-35 JD (£36.60 – £42.70) per day. Petrol costs around 60 JD (£73.20).
- Modern medical services are readily available in Jordan’s larger cities and towns, and the larger hotels normally have a doctor on call. Most doctors speak English fluently. Emergency medical treatment for cases not needing hospitalisation is free in Jordan.
- There are many Internet cafés all around the country, even in remote places.
- If you bargain in Jordan, you can seldom get more than 20-25% lower than the asking price, and not even that if you are with a guide who expects a commission.
- Jordan is a small country with good roads, making important historic sites easily accessible.
- Most Jordanians speak English and are very hospitable to strangers.
- Women will feel more comfortable when travelling in the country if they dress modestly.
- Departure taxes for non-Jordanians are 5 JD (£6.10).
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So wrote John William Burgon in his epic 19th-century poem Petra. These lines had for years imbued in me a longing to visit that once-lost city. A three-hour journey southward from Jordan’s capital Amman brought me to the town of Wadi Musa, where Moses supposedly struck a rock and water gushed forth. Its population of 12,000 lives off the hundreds of thousands who travel each year to Petra, the country’s number-one tourist attraction some 262 kilometres (160 miles) from Amman.
My first stop was the Petra Visitor’s Centre, which provides a two-and-a-half-hour tour of the city including a guide and a horse led by a young lad. As I rode through a narrow valley edged on both sides by reddish cliffs, my guide Muhammad, on a purebred Arabian mare, related the history of this renowned city.
Petra was carved out of rose-red rock beginning about 500 BC by the mainly merchant Nabataean Arabs. They chose the site for their capital due to its impregnable location: surrounded by rugged sandstone hills, it could be easily protected from all directions. The only entrance was through a narrow fissure averaging about five metres (16 feet) wide and, in places, 100 metres (328 feet) high.
Straddling the major trade routes in the ancient world, its location gave the Nabataeans access to the levying of taxes on caravans that carried the frankincense and myrrh of Arabia and the silks and spices from the Far Fast to the north and west. Its inhabitants continually expanded and enriched their sandstone city until it became one of the wealthiest urban centres in the Middle East.
The fabled riches of Petra caught the attention of the empire-building Romans who, after cutting off its water supply, occupied it in 106 AD. Their sculptors continued chiselling and carving the mountain-sides until the empire fell in the third century AD. Subsequently, it faded into obscurity and for centuries was only known to a few Bedouins. In 1812, Swiss explorer Jean Burckhardt found the city, bringing it to the attention of the world.
Entering a one-and-a-half-kilometre (one-mile) awesome cleft in the sandstone, Muhammad dramatically pointed to the opening before us: “Behold the Khaznah [Treasury]!” The facade of this rose-coloured building, carved from solid rock, was stunning in its majesty. It is the most photographed structure in Petra, and is believed to have been built as a royal tomb.
From the Khaznah the fissure broadened out, its walls carved into homes, tombs and façades in a bewildering array of styles. Time and weather have eroded these creations of man, remodelling them into new structures.
A short distance from the Khaznah, we left our horses and walked. Muhammad pointed out the most important of the some 10,000 structures in Petra, 800 of these major monuments. It is estimated that the city, in its prime, had a population of about 25,000.
The Roman amphitheatre, carved out of a solid sandstone hillside, still has a firm outline, but has been greatly eroded. The nearby Street of Façades, with its many impressive frontages of tombs, held my attention for quite some time, but there were many other remains I wanted to explore.
Penetrating further into the city, I was impressed by the Urn and its neighbouring tombs. Soon we were walking on the once-colonnaded Roman Street, at whose end we stopped by the remains of the Arch of Triumph and the Temple of Dushare – the only freestanding structure in Petra. A few minutes climb, and we were examining artefacts in the Petra museum overlooking the ruins.
Walking down a series of steps, we reached the Petra Forum Tourist Restaurant. As we sipped our drinks, I was enveloped in a feeling of contentment. It was a well-earned rest.
We did not have time to examine El Deir, the Monastery – an enormous temple situated on a hillside at the end of an hour’s hike – or El Madbah, the High Place of Sacrifice, 1,035 metres (3,395 feet) above sea level, but what we saw was enough to keep us in Petra’s aura.
As I left late in the afternoon, Muhammad pointed to the reddish Nabataean structures: “See how the rays of the setting sun create a fantasy world of colour.” It was truly a bewitching sight, a captivating picture that will always stay with me.
© SharqMagazine.com
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