petra: a short history

Petra is an overwhelmingly beautiful and magical place.  I spent two days there, fell in love with the place and the people, and am already counting the days until I get to go back (next year, when I visit my mother again).  The pictures in this post are my own.  The information has been taken from the plaques I read while there, what the people said, and what I found online.

OUR GUIDE
Our first day in Petra, we kind of just walked around, read the provided information, took pictures, and marvelled at the beauty of it all.  Late in the afternoon, buy he monastery, we met a very well spoken (and very good-looking) Bedouin man named Abdullah.  He was guiding another family around, but he asked me where I was from and we started talking.  He was funny and eloquent, and we arranged for him to be our guide the next day.  We met up with him for drinks in the evening, and got to know him a bit.  I also may have fallen a little bit in love with him and his beautiful eyes.....check him out on youtube.  And if you ever get to Petra, look him up to be your guide.  You won't regret it.




THE PLACE
It's no wonder that Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as one of the 7 wonders of the world.  It was established by the Nabataeans in the 6th century BC, but was unknown to the western world until the early 1800s.  At it's height, Petra was home to 30,000 people, and was an important spot in the trade route that linked China, India, and Arabia with Egypt, Greece, Syria, and Rome.

THE SIQ AND THE TREASURY
The first part of Petra is the Siq.  This is the (amazing) path that serves as the entrance into the lost city.  After about 1Km, the Siq offers a glimpse of the Treasury; the first monumental structure you'll come across.  Like all of the other tombs and structures, the Treasury is carved right into the sandstone rock face.  And let me tell you, it is breathtaking.

{the Siq}

{the first glimpse of the Treasury, from the Siq}

{the Treasury}

THE MONASTERY

{I actually took this picture!}

Just like the Treasury and the Siq, the Monastery is majestic.  Carved into the top of a mountain, it overlooks a viewpoint that is called "The View of the End of the World".  Over 800 stone-carved steps lead up from the base of the mountain - about 3Km from the Treasury.  While many people walk up, my mother and I chose to ride donkeys up the steps.  We walked back down.