April 9, 2008: Petra, Jordan

What does it take to really put a World Heritage site on the map? Why Hollywood, of course. Petra, an astonishing city carved out of sandstone, hit the big time (for better or for worse) thanks to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Harrison Ford goes galloping through a canyon and sees this, immediately making the viewer think "Whoa! Where the hell is that?!" Too bad every hotel in the area shows that movie incessantly now for the masses of tourists. I used to like that movie.

One nice thing about tourists on packaged tours is that they all tend to visit Petra at the same time so it is possible to have the place pretty much to yourself if you don't mind getting up at an ungodly hour.

Donkeys lined up and ready to take tourists back to the top of the canyon: Definitely worth it, however, as there is certainly something special about walking through the canyon and seeing The Treasury building appear between the narrow walls with nobody else around. It does feel a bit like stumbling upon something that nobody has seen for centuries, if you ignore the tourist tat shops that is.

And perhaps the signs vying for a person's attention:

Duh:

Historians do not know when the Nabataeans first started building Petra, but it flourished as an important trade center until the rise of Palmyra (due to Roman support) to the north in Syria around the mid 300s A.D. I was completely blown away by how much time and effort it must have taken to carve temples and tombs and homes and a theater out of the rock by hand -- especially because it is unclear why the Nabataeans decided to chip away at the rock for centuries. Evidence suggests that the first peoples in the region were cave dwellers and I like to think that the massive buildings were simply a result of "keeping up with the Joneses." Early McMansions, if you will.

The Monastery:

Massive temples and tombs line the base of the cliff in the background:
Whatever their fixation with rock, the Nabataeans ability to control water certainly played an important role in the growth of the city (although I like to think that people came to see the beautiful colors and patterns of the sandstone).
Water conduits built into the rock are still plainly visible today, and I was struck by how effectively they had utilized natural lines to aid in the movement of water. It must have been quite an impressive site to enter the natural fortress-like city from the surrounding desert and see water running along canyon walls.

Petra is huge and incredibly picturesque. Diana and I must have taken around 800 photos between us (thank God for digital cameras), and took a break from constant shutter snapping to explore a canyon near The Treasury. We thought it would be hardcore clambering around through micro thin canyons and over precariously balanced boulders, but it turned out the Nabataeans did the logical terra-forming thing and had conveniently cut steps the entire way for us a few centuries ago. Not exactly hardcore canyoning, although some of the steps were a bit polished and sloping after thousands of years of use by countless feet... We couldn't resist doing some bouldering along the way, of course, especially when we found ourselves on top of a cliff overlooking The Treasury. I'm sure the rock-loving Nabataeans would have approved.