Petra is a 3 1/2 hour drive from Amman, south along what is known as The King's Way, and into real Lawrence of Arabia country. Petra (of course, derivative of the word for rock) is a rose-red (and lots of other colours too, later) city carved out of the rock in the 3rd century B.C. by the Nabateans, who carved palaces, temples and tombs (as well as storerooms and stables) from the natural sandstone cliffs. They commanded the trade routes from Damascus to Arabia, and by the end of it all (and it did come to an end, as these things always do), they had mastered hydraulic engineering, iron production, and copper refining, not to mention sculpture and stone carving.
...the holes indicate tombs
Trish, and our Beduin guide Ahmed
...the hole to the left is a wine press
and the ever present amphitheater...
A thousand pictures (and trust me, I deleted hundreds of them) could not possibly convey the grandeur and magnificence of the place. A few random thoughts, though. There were Beduins living in these caves until quite recently, until its value as a tourist place caused the government to displace them. The Beduin believe firmly that they were directly descended from the Nabateans, although recent DNA testing has proved that not to be the case. And finally, the Beduins seem to be not only friendly and philosophical but a really handsome people!
....to be continued
...the holes indicate tombs
this is a cistern, attached to a viaduct - and we thought it was only the Romans....
Trish, and our Beduin guide Ahmed
..talk about a treegrowing in the desert...
...the hole to the left is a wine press
this is the infamous Treasury...
and the ever present amphitheater...
...even a Beduin market...
...a pit stop for tea or pomegranite juice (yum!)
A thousand pictures (and trust me, I deleted hundreds of them) could not possibly convey the grandeur and magnificence of the place. A few random thoughts, though. There were Beduins living in these caves until quite recently, until its value as a tourist place caused the government to displace them. The Beduin believe firmly that they were directly descended from the Nabateans, although recent DNA testing has proved that not to be the case. And finally, the Beduins seem to be not only friendly and philosophical but a really handsome people!
....to be continued
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