In Jordan - the ancient city of Petra

we spent the day on friday (friday and saturday constitute the weekend in islamic countries) in petra, an astonishing archaeological treasure, a large city cut into utah-like sandstone canyons and crevasses, that dates back over 2400 years... you probably remember the famous scene in one of the indiana jones movies that featured the facade of one of the largest, most ornate, and impressive tombs... well, the reality of it is beyond words... unfortunately, not only were there piles of tourists, but nearby they were also filming the next transformers movie (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), imho, unforgiveable tackiness in a place like that...

in any case, here is just a sampling of the many, many photos i took on friday...


Walking through the Siq


Petra Treasury seen from the Siq




The Petra amphitheatre

Petra

Petra (from "petra", rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ) is an archaeological site in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. Petra is also one of the new wonders of the world.

The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was discovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate prize-winning sonnet by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." In 1985, Petra was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rekem is an ancient name for Petra and appears in Dead Sea scrolls associated with Mount Seir. Additionally, Eusebius and Jerome assert that Rekem was the native name of Petra, supposedly on the authority of Josephus. Pliny the Elder and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans, Aramaic-speaking Semites, and the centre of their caravan trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf.

Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, in effect creating an artificial oasis. The area is visited by flash floods and archaeological evidence demonstrates the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams, cisterns and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought, and enabled the city to prosper from its sale.

[...]

Although in ancient times Petra might have been approached from the south (via Saudi Arabia on a track leading around Jabal Haroun, Aaron's Mountain, on across the plain of Petra), or possibly from the high plateau to the north, most modern visitors approach the ancient site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge (in places only 3–4 metres wide) called the Siq ("the shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh ("the Treasury"), hewn into the sandstone cliff.
The Monastery at Petra

A little further from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr is a massive theatre, so placed as to bring the greatest number of tombs within view. At the point where the valley opens out into the plain, the site of the city is revealed with striking effect. The amphitheatre has actually been cut into the hillside and into several of the tombs during its construction. Rectangular gaps in the seating are still visible. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-colored mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures, and lined with knobs cut from the rock in the form of towers.

and, if petra wasn't amazing enough, we went from there to wadi rum, but i will dedicate a separate post to that equally astonishing area...

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In Aqaba, Jordan

It's early on Monday morning and I'm listening to the gentle wash of the waves on the Red Sea shore outside my hotel room and thinking about my first impressions of Jordan.

My only previous experience with an Islamic country was the recent one in Afghanistan and so I was curious to see what Jordan would be like. The similarities are many - an Islamic people; a rugged, arid, desert landscape; muezzins singing prayers from the many mosques; women in headscarves and full-length, shapeless garments; and arabic people, most of whom are descended from nomadic tribes - but the differences are dramatic. For one thing, Jordan is not at war or at constant risk of terrorist activity, which makes it safe to walk the streets and generally to come and go as you please. For another, there is a much larger middle class and the abject, mind-numbing poverty on display everywhere in Afghanistan is mostly absent. The national infrastructure - what I have seen of it so far - is good. The 3 1/2 hour drive from Amman here to Aqaba was on a 4-lane divided highway that had obviously been recently resurfaced.

Aqaba is well laid-out with wide streets, often divided by medians full of palm trees, walking paths and places to sit and relax. The hotel I'm staying at is on a par with any other first-class hotel anywhere in the world, and there are a number of others in the same category and many more in various stages of construction. Restaurants are within walking distance and the sound of languages from numerous other countries - Germany, France, eastern Europe, and other Arab states - can be heard as tourists and their families come and go from beach outings.

The sheer volume of world history available within a two-hour drive of the city is amazing. From Lawrence of Arabia, to the Crusades, to major events recorded in the Bible, to the 4000 years of history and culture surrounding Petra, it's obvious that this is a truly ancient land with stories literally embedded in every rock.

The 40 kilometers of Jordanian coastline, stretching from Aqaba to the border with Saudi Arabia on the south, was increased to that amount a number of years ago by virtue of a land swap with Saudi Arabia, and it constitutes Jordan's only access to the sea. The port of Aqaba is a busy one and is equipped to handle both container and cruise ships and port facilities are being rapidly expanded.

Some people in my UNR class asked the other night why the U.S. was interested in giving foreign aid money to Jordan, and I had to confess I wasn't sure. Since coming here, I think I've found out why. The Islam practiced in Jordan is of the moderate, more open-minded variety and the country is relatively peaceful and stable and my guess is that the U.S. would like it to stay that way which means keeping the people happy and the current ruler, King Abdullah, in power. On the more immediately practical side, the port of Aqaba handles several hundred container ships a month where supplies for Iraq are off-loaded on trucks, and driven to Iraq by way of Amman.

I'll share other observations as I get them and when I have time. In the meantime, enjoy the photo below which was taken from the balcony of my hotel room. It's looking out at the Red Sea toward the south with the coastline of the city of Aqaba in the center right and unfortunately includes a construction site, only one of many here in this a-building resort city. To the far lower left right, well outside the border of the photo, is the city of Eilat, Israel. The border crossing to Israel is only minutes from the center of Aqaba and I am sure I'll be making that trip at least once during my visit. The map at the top of the post gives you a sense of place.

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