Petra: Lost and Found

January 1, 2009. Wadi Musa and Petra, Jordan

(notes from my journal)

We started our day at 6 AM. After a quick breakfast, Atta, the owner of the hotel dropped us off at the Petra visitors center. We wanted to get an early start so we avoid the busloads of tourists. We got tickets (26 JD per person) and also paid for a guide for 4 hours (50JD). I feel that having a guide at historical places enhances the experience since the focus shifts from trying to find every single monument in the book to actually enjoying the place while listening to the history and explanation given by the guide. Our guide’s name was Ahmed and he had a degree in archeology, spoke excellent English and was very personable. Perfect!

Ahmed, our excellent guide

For the first hour Ahmed took us through the siq. On the way he gave us a lot of information about the style of the tombs that are on the path towards the siq – between the visitors center and the siq. A lot of the tombs have Greek and Roman influences and symbolize the soul moving up towards heaven. As we entered the siq, Ahmed pointed out that there used to be a Roman style arch at the entrance which was probably destroyed during an earthquake. Partial remains of this arch are still visible today. Besides, drawings of the siq-entrance by early European explorers have this arch which means that it did exist at least until the late 19th century. At the entrance of the siq were shrines to the Nabatean god, Dushara; make sure you pay your respects before you enter! Along the siq there are water-pipes  on both sides. The left hand side is the Nabatean style: open, like a canal . The right hand side is Roman style: closed, like a pipe. This simply reflects the different civilizations that   once ruled this place and brought their own style. The Nabateans also built mini damns built along the way to prevent flash floods and control the flow of water.

Both sides of the siq have temples/shrines dedicated to the Nabatean god, Dushara, Few shrines also have his wife, the goddess of fertility. And even fewer have his mother, the goddess of commerce and trade; or as Ahmed put it: The goddess of shopping!

Interestingly the ground on which we stood in the siq, was unearthed only a few years ago. So when the movie, Indiana Jones was made, the movie makers walked on a different layer of earth! The one we walked on was paved, Roman style. I wonder what lies beneath. In a few years, when we go back, there might be something else! That’s the wonder of Petra!

View of the siq with the horse-driven carts at a distance.

After almost an hour we arrived at the treasury! It is really beautiful in the day! Ahmed gave us 10 minutes to take pictures and walk around. We walked up the steps of the treasury and there is a guard who will not allow you to go inside. Actually, there is not much to see inside apart from a small room. Since most of the sites at Petra are tombs or monuments to the departed, there are just 1 or 2 rooms. First where the body is prepared for burial and the second is the burial chamber.

Al-Khazneh

Afterward, Ahmed showed us pictures of the treasury that were drawn by European explorers from the late 19th century. From these pictures we could see how the treasury must have looked a long time ago and what restorations have been made since. The treasury has twelve pillars that denote the months of the year. Thirty roses that denote 30 days of the month and seven cups that denote seven days of the week. Thus the Nabatean year had 360 days per year.

We then walked past some tombs that had two stories, denoting that they belonged to rich people; and single story tombs that belonged to not-so-rich people. Almost all the tombs were incomplete because people commenced work on their tomb during their lifetime and when they died they were buried in the (usually) incomplete tomb and since there was no one to pay for the work, the tomb was left as is.

Ahmed also mentioned to us that the path right next to the treasury lies on the top of a city that was excavated a few years ago, but was covered up for safety reasons. There is a plan to uncover this city again and explore its secrets! Just 20% of Petra has been excavated so far!

We walked past the Royal tombs and then the Nabatean amphitheater. It looks roman style but was built by the Nabateans. The Romans added an arch later.

Royal Tombs

Further down, is a Roman street lined with pillars and also a forum. The street was a Roman marketplace during its day; it still is today. The street and the forum were excavated just 20 years ago and further excavations are still under way.

Roman market street

Further down is the “daughters palace” (Qasr bin al-Faroun). The story goes that a kings daughter fell in love with and married another king, who in turn fell in love with a dancer and wanted to marry the dancer as well. However. the dancer had a condition was that the king would have to divorce his current wife, to which the king agreed. This broke the queens heart and to make her feel better her father built her a palace. It is built entirely into the hillside. She never lived there, instead gave it to the people of Petra for use. It was built in 30 BCE and is the only free-standing structure in Petra.

Near the palace are two restaurants, a little museum-cum-shop and very clean restrooms. At this point, we parted ways with Ahmed. He went back to the visitors center and we hiked up to the Monastery.

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary