City of Rock

In 1812, a Swiss born adventurer/explorer from London named Jean Louis Burckhardt journeyed to the Middle East, a place where few Europeans, or any other non-Muslims for that matter, ever ventured. During his travels he kept a journal detailing everything he saw and experienced. In the Jordanian city of Karak where the Crusaders built beautiful castles, he heard tales of an ancient city hidden away in an impenetrable mountain with only one route in and out. His curiosity peaked, and he set out to find this hidden city. With the help of a suspicious guide he hiked down a steep hill into the Siq (a shaft or narrow gorge) and arrived at the Treasury. In his journal he made sketches of the amazing edifice and continued on into the canyon, sketching the details of the façades sculpted into the rock face. Ten years later his journals were published and the lost city of Petra was once again known to Western civilization after being forgotten for more than 500 years.

The first mention of Petra is from the Old Testament, when after 40 years in the desert, Moses was ordered by God to produce water for the Israelites. He struck a rock and a spring gushed

forth (Ain Musa– the Spring of Moses) which provided water for the inhabitants of the area at the time. In the 7^th century BC (~ 647) the Nabateans settled in the central bowl of the valley floor of this mountainous region and began to develop the city into an important stop on the trading route along the Silk Road. In the 1^st centuries BC and AD the Romans took over Petra, along with the rest of Europe and the Middle East, and turned it into the capital of their Provincia Arabia. Massive ornate façades were carved directly into the sheer, red rock faces of the canyon and a fledging city thrived, supported by a well engineered water conveyance system that brought the Ain Musa down the Siq and into the heart of the city. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the Islamic invasion in the 7^th century AD, Petra became deserted and eventually abandoned (with the exception of local Bedouin tribes) around 1270 AD.

After it’s rediscovery in the 1800’s Petra became a wonder for tourists and movie makers. The city now is a mob scene of tourist groups and local Bedouins selling everything from postcards to camel rides. In the movie industry, the city is most famously known as the location for the filming of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. During my visit there a Bollywood movie production was being filmed with Indians in cowboy hats and plaid shirts – classic.

Walking through the Siq, one is not quite prepared for what lies before them. The Siq itself is amazing in that it was created by the shifting of tectonic plates which spit the mountain to create a sometimes wide, sometimes narrow gorge. The ground is mostly sandy dirt and/or rock, but in some places large Roman stone slabs, polished smooth by 2,000 years of foot and carriage traffic, pave the way. It was easy to see why this city thrived and was easy to defend since the only way in and out is through this narrow gorge.

As the Siq narrowed down to only a few feet across I was taken aback by the massive façade that peaked out from the narrow slit before me. Stepping out of the Siq and into the plaza in front of the Treasury, my neck craning backwards, I was truly shocked and overwhelmed. The next six hours was spent walking through the canyon in the hot desert sun, admiring the beauty and shaking

off utter disbelief in the creation of the city itself. In addition we meandered around elderly tour groups and fought off Bedouin kids, who although they cannot read or write, can speak five or six languages (limited phrases though I’m sure) due to the constant influx of tourists from all over the world.

My favorite part (though getting there was exhausting), was climbing up the 900+ steps as they wound up, over, and around a rock mountain, to the top which looked down deep into the valley below. At the top was the most impressive façade of the Monastery, carved deep into the rock with a large plaza in front, perfect for stepping back and really getting a feel of just how grandiose this all really is. A climb up another summit brought me to the highest point in Petra (1,450m above sea level – 4,750ft) such that I could look down into the valley in one direction, and out over Saudi Arabia in the other.

On the way back I couldn’t resist the urge to ride a camel through the heart of the city and back to the Treasury. In addition, my feet hurt so much from a full day of walking that assaulting my groin actually sounded like a better idea than hiking back on foot. Camels are big animals. Tall like a moose such that when you ride on one the perspective you gain by being up so high is really incredible. Staying on, and not crushing important reproductive parts as the camel stands up, is not easy however. The ungulate first raises its backside and you are thrown violently forward. Seconds later the front legs extend up halfway and you are heaved backwards just as violently, except that the momentum of the quick reversal of body weight makes it that much more brutal. Finally the front legs are extended up fully and you even out, albeit with pain shooting through where the sun don’t shine – the next day was far worse. Quite an experience though; riding through the ancient city of Petra on a Camel, people staring at you like the idiot tourist you are; but I could tell they were jealous.