Nabatean Empire, cont.

Now for some LP background on Petra and the Nabateans:

The Nabateans (who we were first introduced to in Bosra) were a nomadic tribe that spoke a form of Aramaic and controlled southern Jordan, first settling around 6th c. BCE, with its capital in Petra. Apparently they didn’t actually produce anything, but became fabulously wealthy acting as middlemen on trade routes (as all Arabs have done since the beginning of civilization) and their empire/‘sphere of influence’ spread from Arabia to Syria in 64 BC, afterwhich the Romans began to view them as a threat and decided to annex the empire into a Roman province centered in Petra.

Also Petra was famous for being the sole traders frankincense, myrrh and other spices, which clearly means that the three kings that visited Jesus either came from Petra or traded with Petrans.

Some other crazy things about Petra: it once had a population of 20,000 but not a single house has been found. However 60% (LP 2006 says 95%) of the site still awaits excavation, but additionally no bones have been found in the many tombs that have been excavated. Petra is pretty much a city obsessed with death and the next life because the only lasting structures are the hundreds and hundreds of empty tombs that have been discovered. Beyond being merchants, Petrans became expert hydraulic engineers who developed a water system to protect their site (many of the buildings are remarkably intact, thanks to their ingenuity at preserving them from being eroded by water runoff). The city was considered a ‘lost city’ until discovered by a Swiss explorer disguised as a Muslim holy man in 1812, and the first excavation team arrived in 1929.

Our 8 ½ hour walking expedition began with our young guide at the entrance to the siq, the 1.2 km canyon-like-but-not-actually-a-canyon passageway (it was formed by tectonic plates, not water erosion) whose 200 m walls protected caravans travelling through. Along the edges run waterways for drinking and irrigation to the city, some with the 2000-yr-old terracotta pipes still visible. Our guide also pointed out remains of pagan shrines to local gods and other evidence that suggest that Petra was not just a trading city but also potentially a place of pilgrimage/religious center.

After walking along the siq for quite some time (2 hours to be exact), stopping for photos and history lessons and feeling closed in by the towering rock walls and similarly by the masses of tour groups surrounding us, the passageway finally opens up and you are face-to-face with Petra’s greatest monument—the Treasury. The most amazing thing about Petra’s structures is that, with the exception of one or two later on, they are not free-standing buildings but just façades carved into massive rock faces. And inside they are nothing but big empty rooms, used for ceremonial practices associated with death. The Treasury is actually a misnomer because it is in fact a tomb but some believed it held the fortunes of an Egyptian pharaoh so the solid-rock urn on the top of the ‘building’ has several rifle shots marking the surface from hopeful locals.

So since Petra is The Site To See in Jordan and has been recently been named the 8th Wonder of the World, or maybe just one of the 7 wonders that you can still visit, and we visited in late March, aka tourist season in full swing, the place is naturally overrun with tour groups, mostly of the 65-75 age range, from any number of European countries, and even a few Americans. Petra is not an easy or accessible site, however. As I said before, we spent nearly 9 hours walking, and if we had wanted to see more than the usual sites, we would have had to spend another day or even two getting off the beaten track. I suppose people know what they are getting themselves (and know that its worth it) into so they are up for the challenge, but my parents and I were all thoroughly impressed with our older counterparts, particularly at the end of the day when you reach the end of the trail and realize you have to turn around and walk back. Some people opt for the horse and buggy ride, or the camel/donkey option, but still spend the vast majority of the time on their feet, on unstable, steep and slippery rock surfaces.

The other thing about Petra being TSTSIJ is that virtually any place where you could think to stop for a breath or a view or a photo is occupied by a souvenir shop/shack/table. They are run by local Bedouins (the ones who likely still sleep in the caves), and you’ll see them sitting on the side of the road enjoying tea or taking a nap or hiding from the sun while their six-year-old mans shop, and you’ll similarly see the little kids climbing rocks and playing together or teaching each other to say “give me a pen”—what a place and a way to grow up! But what a backdrop for your youth!

The other great monument of Petra (other than the Royal Tombs, Theater, Street of Façades, Great Temple…) is the Monastery, well worth the 850-ish steps up a steep mountainside to get there. Much like the suspense-building leading up to the Treasury, you spend an hour looking at your feet, trying not to slip, then all of a sudden you round a corner, look up and see a structure far bigger than the Treasury and equally impressive. It is also a tomb, but gets its name from crosses carved on the inside walls, suggesting that it was transformed into a church in its later years under the Byzantine empire.

From the Monastery the trail continued to different viewing points (each with its own souvenir shop). My dad and I followed the trail to the view of ‘The End of The World’ and looked out over an impressive mountainscape and valley into Israel and Palestine.

The whole day not only wiped out our legs but also proved to be an exhausting mindtrip as we maxed out on our wows taking in the magnitude of both nature’s wonders and that of Man. By the time we reached the entrance to the site at the end of the day, my mom and I collapsed on a bench and waited for the hotel bus to shuttle us back. My dad looked around for a good local restaurant for dinner (or at least the least touristy option) but my mom vetoed leaving the hotel for the rest of the night and considered ordering room service. After nearly two weeks of full travelling days, days spent walking around a city or ruins, then arriving to a hotel late in the afternoon just wanting to nap or zone out and let the day’s activities sink in, my mom would be changing into her walking shoes and ready to go out to explore by night. But nevermore! We officially wiped my mom out (the second of two firsts for my parents: my dad eating sweets before lunch and my mom wanting to order room service so she wouldn’t have to move for the rest of the night). We didn’t quite give into room service, but instead, after a few long showers, we were the first people in the dining room that night (the tour groups had already moved on to their next site) by at least 30 minutes.