On Sunday, July 29, we came into school to find that not only did we have Monday off, as usually, but that Tuesday had been declared a national holiday and we would thus have our first two day weekend ever. Plans to attend the music festival in Jerash were quickly trashed and replaced with an overnight trip to Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world. We (me, Stephanie, Kat, Ryan, Ellie, Sean, Ayesnur, and Husna) arrived Monday in the late afternoon. We walked the narrow canyon (called the Siq) to the treasury, and then down to the old Roman Theater. We went back later that night to see Petra By Night, filing down the lantern lined Siq to a concert before the dimly lit Treasury. The next day we got up early to go on a hike through the park and discovered that it is much vaster than the tourism industry makes out. Most of the group took off back to Amman that afternoon but Kat, Ryan, and I kept walking, climbing the endless stairs until sunset and then stayed another night before returning to Amman and class the next morning.
And yes, it was wondrous.
(Unfortunately, and to my great distress, I left my camera in a cab on the way back to Amman and all my pictures were lost, these I owe to the rest of the group, with thanks for the memories)
Entering the Park
We were astonished with this tomb at the time, little did we know that it would be one of hundreds throughout the park.
Entering the Siq
Niches carved into the canyon walls
Water channels lining the sides
Time wears downs all women
Must ... Climb ... Rock ...
The Treasury peaks out from around the corner
Returning later, we walked, in one large line, back down the Siq, now lined with hundreds of lanterns.
The next morning we took off at 8am to explore the rest of the park.
Walking down another (less famous) canyon, we suddenly pop around a corner to find more ancient Nabatein carvings. Apparently those guys really got around.
The girls
Coming to the end of our canyon walk we pop out into an open area, make for the nearest cliff face, and realize that there was more to Petra than we ever imagined.
Finding ourselves back towards the city center we wind up twisting staircase, carved aesthetically into the rock, slowly making our way towards the High Place of Sacrifice.
The intrepid explorers are lost ...
... and getting desperate!
Husna and Ayensur: We loved you and your willingness to be dragged to the tops of desert mountains.
We got to the top (sorry, the goal was not as interesting as the journey), and found another staircase pointing the way back down.
And the tombs never did stop coming.
When we got down off the mountain everyone but Ryan, Kat, and I huffed it back to the entrance to catch the last bus back to Amman. They missed that bus, but that is another story. The three of us hung out around the Roman city center for a bit ...
... Then climbed up another mountain towards the Monastery
After about an hour of climbing stairs I walked right past it and didn't even notice it was there until I looked back over my shoulder. Its a hell of a thing to have sneak up on you like that!
For a sense of scale, I'm on the right, Kat is one the left.
Worth going back.
