Our trip to Petra, began with our ship docking at Aqaba, the only port in Jordan. Aqaba was founded around 1300BC by the ancient people known as the Edomites. Aqaba has been a desirable seaport and commercial centre for countless years because of its' strategic position of being at the crossroads of the Asian, African and European trade routes.
Aqaba has passed through the hands of many rulers since 1300 BC. 
The Romans were replaced by the Byzantines and in then between the 7th and 12th centuries Aqaba was tossed back and forth between the Christians and the Muslims until it was finally conquered by the Muslim leader Saladin, famous for taking Jerusalem from the Crusaders.
The Romans were replaced by the Byzantines and in then between the 7th and 12th centuries Aqaba was tossed back and forth between the Christians and the Muslims until it was finally conquered by the Muslim leader Saladin, famous for taking Jerusalem from the Crusaders.
Then in the 16th century Aqaba was ruled by the Turkish / Ottoman Empire until 1917 when Englishman, Lawrencr of Arabia, led an Arab revolt against the city and won. We are going to visit Wadi Rum the home of Lawrence of Arabia after our trip to Petra.
Today Aqaba is a small coastal city and a world class tourist destination full of medieval ruins, wonderful diving sites and the UNESCO World Heritage Site - the City of Petra, an archaeological wonder of the world.
This tour was a private one which Ken organised prior to our departure from Sydney. Four other couples joined us after Ken advertised it through Cruise Critic. We set off in an airconditioned mini bus and travelled to Petra which lies deep in the the desert area about 2 hours drive from Aqaba. The drive took us through villages, towns, mountains, valleys and the ever changing arid desert colours of oranges, yellows and reds. The closer we came to Petra the more rugged and mountainous the terrain became and the steep hillsides were dotted with 2 and 3 storey stone houses. At a high point overlooking a wide plateau area we stopped to look down on the massive valleys, gorges, chasms and mountains of granite and sandstone. Somewhere deep below in the distance lay the mystical city of Petra. We'd seen YouTube videos of Petra and we're looking forward to seeing this 2000+year old city of stone with our own eyes.
It is not precisely known when Petra was built, but it began to prosper as the capital of the Nabataea Empire from the 1st century BC, which prospered through trade in frankincense, mryrrh and spices. Petra was later annexed to the Roman Empire and continued to thrive until a large earthquake in 363 AD destroyed much of the city. The earthquake combined with changes in trade routes, eventually led to the downfall of the city. By the middle of the 7th century Petra was largely deserted and lost to all except for local Bedouin in the area.
In 1812 a Swiss explorer, Johannes Burckhardt eases as an Arab and convinced his Bedouin guide to take him to the 'lost' city. Since this time Petra has increasingly been known as a fascinating place to visit.
Petra is also referred to as the " rose-red city" because of its vivid shades of sandstone. Parts of the the ancient city have been carved and sculpted into the sandstone cliffs, along with remarkably preserved monuments, tombs and paved stone roadways and a 3000 seat Roman Theatre.
The temperature was already 35C when we arrived at 9.15am but we were dressed appropriately in long pants, long sleeved breathable shirts, hats, sunscreen with damp cooling cloths for around our necks. We each carried 3 bottles of water with 2 spare bottles stored in the bus for part 2 of our tour to Wadi Rum later in the afternoon. We knew this was going to be a challenging days walking because of the heat and length of distances to be covered as we visited various sites of the city so we planned to 'take our time ', to enjoy and 'drink in' the experiences of seeing and marvelling at the wonders of Petra and to stop and rest often.
This Petra 1 blog will only report on a quarter of our 7 hours at Petra. From the time we began the trek from the visitors centre to our first long rest break at a tented watering hole for weary walkers. Our guide, Khalid was born and breed in the modern-day city of Petra and he was a warm, friendly, interestingly informative, thoughtful, encouraging and caring. He spoke very good English and walked with us throughout the day except for short periods when we explored on our own. As we started the walk towards the treasury we kept to the shadow areas created by the tall rock formations which make up much of this area mountainous area. There was also a pleasant breeze flowing though the narrow gorge area we were about to enter so we were spurred on even though we knew this day would be l-o-n-g and challenging. We passed ancient rock tombs ( carved out of the mountainside, now empty) as well as carved deities from the Nabataean people who once lived in this desert area. An double inscription on the cliff wall, written in both Nabataean and Greek refers to a burial monument and tomb that was to be was was used by Abdomanchos and his family, in the reign of Malichus 11 (40-70AD)
The trail narrowed as we entered the gorge area known as 'The Siq' which leads into the ancient city of Petra. The Siq resulted from a natural splitting of the mountain where water and weather erosion have created 1.2 km long dramatic and impressive walk-through-gorge passageway. It snakes and twists around creating shadows on the high walls and revealing beautiful shapes and various colours of the sandstone and basalt rocks of these mountains.
We were in awe of the tranquil beauty and majestic height of The Siq and the changing colours of the rock due to the varying sunlight. Many people were walking through with us but because we arrived before the big tourist buses we did not experience the usual crowdedness of this narrow trail and were able to take photos unimpeded. We were impressed too with the ancient water channels that which run alongside both rock sides, with some evidence of clay pipes which once lined these channels carved in the rock wallface so that water could flow successfully through the gorge walkway. We also shared this gently winding walk through with horse drawn carriages and donkey riding tourists so it was a little hairy at narrow corners and especially when a donkey or two became stubborn.
Suddenly there was a commotion as the first key- hold glimpse of Petra's magnificent facad, came into view: The Treasury (Al Khazna) . This imposing and impressive icon is on every tourist brochure or utube video of Petra. The Treasury stands is almost 40 metres high. It has been carved out of the pink sandstone face of the imposing cliff wall that stands opposite the exit of The Siq that we walk through. What is so amazing is that this impressive tomb structure was carved from the top of the cliff through to the valley floor below. There are intrately decorated Corithian colours, friezes, figures and other sculptured objects. A huge funerary urn stands. Above the Corithian capitals and remarkably the Treasury was probably con structured in the 1st century BC.
We just stood and were amazed. Our photos do not do it justice but we were impressed. Later in the day we stopped to 'drink it all in again' on our return hike. The sun was in a different position and so the colours are changed too.
We continued on our trek down a wider area where the vista opened up to an ancient street with more carved tombs at various levels on the Rocky Mountains on either side. The sun was high in the sky as we walked on uneven pathways and the heat was near 42C so the going was tough. Just when we thought we could go no further without a break, we chanced upon a tented "water hole" it was cool under the lined tent roof and there were tables and chairs and Egyptian-type chaises to rest on. Ken ordered us a freshly squeezed orange juice and it was so refreshing and reviving for us. I (Joy) decided to take a half hour+ rest at this spot whilst Ken, ever the intrepid explorer continued on to another archeological site. This will be written about in Prtra 2 . Enjoy some of our many photo shoots of Petra part 1.
