Petra (Jordan) - The ancient red rose city

Blog 34 - Petra in Jordan - undoubtably one of the wonders of the ancient world:

Cruising towards Aqaba in Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, I look back to the country and place visited before we reached the Suez Canal.

We had sailed from Oman around the Arabian Peninsula turning north up the Red Sea to the port of Aqaba in Jordan. Our original destination had been Safaga, the gateway to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. However Cunard, on advice from the Foreign Office in London, decided that it was just too risky a port call with the state of flux in Egypt at this time, so what a bonus trip we had, an unexpected chance to see Petra.

The port of Aqaba Jordan

Lawrence of Arabia country

Aqaba is Jordan's only sea port and is situated at the southernmost tip of the country. A coach was waiting, one of at least 12 coaches of around 50 QM2 passengers each that were destined for a two hour 80 mile trip inland to Petra. We passed the road to Wadi Rum where the Arab uprising against the Turks (with Lawrence of Arabia) began. We also saw in the distance the supposed site of Aaron's shrine. The Jordanians believe that Moses and Aaron wandered in this part of the desert and that, in Petra, Moses struck the rock which brought forth perpetual water. 

Natural splendour of 'rose' sandstone

"Match me such a marvel save in Eastern cline / a rose red city half as old as time." These words from an old poem sum up the ancient splendour that is Petra. This remote dead city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the eyes of many truly one of the great archaeological treasures of the world. The rose red label is most certainly part of the appeal and comes from the awesome, multicoloured sandstone mountains into which most of the tombs, facades, theatres and many stairways are carved. Raw nature is combined with striking hand carved stone to give a surreal mystical aura that one simply cannot do justice to in a few hours. Three days it really should take to appreciate the grandeur and depth of this once throbbing hub of the eastern trade routes, arts and culture, and the central meeting place and government of a vast empire, and we only had one..

Arab 'Caravaneers' plying their trade

2000 years BC the Nabataeans, a very gifted Arab tribe moved to settle in southern Jordan. They were experienced in 'caravaneering' - the movement in trade of spice, silks, animal hides etc. They grew rich and dominated for hundreds of years this part of the East between Damascus and the Sinai Peninsular.  They were clever and practical people, were open to outside cultural influences and this city reflects the various interactions. Graeco Roman, Egyptian, local Arabic - it is all here in this city full of terraces, water harvesting systems, artwork and temples. After Roman invasion, earthquakes and the decline of the land trade routes because of improvements in shipping, Petra gradually declined and was lost to the world until a Swiss traveller rediscovered it 200 years ago. 

Water channels cut into rocks

The path down to the city

I can understand why it was difficult to locate. There is a 1200m walk slightly down hill through narrow slits and gorges in the sandstone rocks passing water inlets which are dammed to create controlled water irrigation to the city. Walking down the As-Siq, this main ancient entrance to the City was indeed impressive. Soaring cliffs on either side up to 80m, bizarre looking geological formations, colourful rocks; it was like going down into the earth, deeper and deeper in one of those films like '20000 leagues under the sea' or legends of Atlantis. Quite beautiful yet it looked like a constructed movie set. 

Horse and cart amongst
the tourists

It was a very hot day and I was showing signs that if I walked too far with my dodgy knee and hip the journey back might have to be completed by the local taxi service. No, that is not a comfortable car but four choices, all uncomfortable; either camel, donkey, horse back or horse and carriage which on the uneven hard tracks would shake my ageing body to the core. 

Being the proverbial coward I had decided I was not going to walk the 5 mile circular up and down route noted as 'easy' in the brochure (NOT) but to go as far as the open amphitheatre in the centre and return to base and the air conditioned hotel where lunch and a drink would be most welcome. Jacky on the other hand, as you are all aware, is the adventurist - always on the student field trip seeking new sights and historic references. I left her to it as she separated from our guided group and walked into the distance and disappeared. It was 11am and we were to leave at 4pm - would she get back it time? We will see!

The amazing sculptures
in the rose sandstone

Our coach party walked on, the guide rushing from one point of interest to another telling tales and giving information in his broken English. I have to confess I missed much of what he was saying. This is the disadvantage of these 'all in one day' tours, a few hours of trying to see a whole host of amazing sights but being rushed around like the donkeys or the camels that were carting some very hot and tired looking earlier groups that had given up the ghost in favour of an air conditioned hotel lunch. They were bobbing up and down and holding on to whatever was closest to them - no wonder the husband in one of the carts had a red face, goodness know what his wife was holding on to! Jacky had made the right decision, armed with her recently purchased guide book doing her own thing in her own way.

We descended further and suddenly the first main monument hit us in all its dazzling glory, the Al-Khazneh (Treasury). The 30m wide and 43m high facade is truly breathtaking and no words in this blog can actually do it justice. It was carved out of the rocks by local tradesmen in the first century BC as a tomb for an important Nabataean King and maybe, so the guide said, it could have been used as a temple. One feels dwarfed here and although there must be several hundred tourists around you had space and time to think what it must have been like here in those days 100 years before Jesus was born. 

The Theatre  in the centre city area 

To the left were some very steep terraced steps and we were told these were the "steps of sacrifice" (gulp). Poor little sheep and goats were taken up to the high alter and presented to the Gods by having their throats cut. Each to their own beliefs I suppose but not my scene, so I did not access to have a look. I spent some time in the central street of facades and The Theatre. This open theatre looks Roman but was actually built into the rock by local people in the first century AD. It held 7000 people, what a sight that must have been.

The craft shop of the sand bottles

By now I had separated from the group and was doing my own thing. I was particularly interested in watching a clever trader make a silhouette of a camel inside a jar using only different colours of local sand. These jars were then put out for sale. Jacky had taken the money and I only had enough for a drink so I could not purchase a jar which was a shame but on reflection it would have meant another souvenir to try and pack when we get off the ship. A clever piece of artwork and one that I am told goes right back to those early days of settlement in the city.

Colonnaded street with Royal tombs
in the background

820 steps to the Monastery

I walked back up the incline to the hotel and exhausted I waited in anticipation as to whether Jacky would be back in time. This was going to be a tough ask- walking at least an extra 5 miles and ascending the 820 steps to the Ad-Deir (Monastery), Petra's most famed attraction after the Treasury. Around 3.10pm Jacky walked in and not to my surprise confirmed that she had completed the whole route including trudging through ankle deep sand for ages. Jacky confirmed seeing the Colonnaded Street flanked by temples, public buildings and shops, the Royal tombs and the 4th century Christian church, as well as the Monastery and the viewpoint from the top of the mountain over the inland sand desert. The buildings and views were stunning and although I did not make it I am adding them to my blog for interest purposes.

view from the Monastery over desert

Oleander Bushes in full bloom

What a long 10 hour day it was but a 'once in a life time' visit that was just a memorable experience. One can visit Petra all year round but winter is quite cold here (8-13ºc) and there are less daylight hours. In the peak of summer it can reach 40ºc so we visited at the best time in April when the oleander bushes are at full bloom and that in itself is a priceless show.  It was 'only' about 30ºC on our day trip. We got back to the dockside and a quaint tradition on the QM2 is that on the longer excursions the Captain and Officers are waiting and everybody is given a glass of champagne -  A nice touch to end a great day….. 

We are nearing the southern Italian port of Civitavecchia affectionately known as the port of Rome.

We are not going on the two hour coach trip there but instead took a trip into the Lazio region for some Merlot tasting and a lunch of locally grown olives and bruscetta.

Stay tuned to find out how we fared.

DKT