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Petra

Introduction
Petra, the old capital of the Nabataeans located in the hilly semi-dessert of Jordan, was put on the list of the 7 modern world-wonders in 2007 and experiences a boom in visitors since then.

This article describes the access to the ancient city, provides tips and hints, some historical information and a short description of the site and the most famous
Petra monuments.

Wadi Musa
The hub to and from Petra has grown quickly and somewhat chaotically in the last years. New hotels appear on a monthly basis and the prices for accommodation and food is noticeable higher than in the average.

It is not a beautiful sight but that is not the point of staying there.

History
Petra (lat. "Perae" for stone) was famous as a trading center, capital of the mystical Nabataeans and for its sophisticated irrigation systems.

The Edomits inhabited the region in 1000 BC. After the arrival of the Nabataeans in 312 BC that Petra developed into a trans-regional, wealthy trade empire.

Nabataeans
The Nabataeans, an Arabic nomad people controlled rather through diplomacy and perfect knowledge of the dessert than through military might the trading routes leading from Arabic peninsula to the Mediterranean. Their capital Petra became the most important way stop and - imposing passage-duties - amassed fabulous riches.

The Nabataeans were masters of hydraulic water systems and constructed a very complex irrigation system collecting water from a large area and enabling the growth of Petra to a city of about 20'000 inhabitants. There is little knowledge about their religion; they probably worshipped to Arabic goddesses such as Dutra, Uzza, Allat und Manah. Considering the many thousands tombs - it is a safe assumption that they had an extensive cult of the dead. For constructing the tombs they employed a variety of styles and combined different cultural influences. Until today you can discover Greek, Egyptian and Roman influences on the very same buildings.

Contrary to the deaths of their elites the people lived in tents, later on presumably also in small huts. Neither has left traces behind.

Romans
In 64BC Petra came under the influence of the Roman Empire and had to pay high tribute in order to stay independent. In 106 AC, the Romans formally took over.

In the following, numerous new buildings and structures (including the colonnade street in the city center) were built. The next hundred years were Petra's heydays and the population peaked at around
Petra20'000 people.

Decline
The devastating earthquake in 363 AC combined with plundering intruders and above all the change of trade routes as a consequence of technology (arise of maritime trade) and climate change, caused the decline of Petra. It remained an inhabited yet small place in the Byzantine time and was all but abandoned after the Arabic Muslim conquest of the region.

Later on in the 12th century, the crusader built two small outlooks but left shortly thereafter and since then it was only known to Bedouins, living in the area.

Rediscovery
In 1812, the Swiss Louis Burckhardt rediscovered Petra and brought it back into the western consciousness. More than 100 years later, Lawrence of Arabia visited the place and wrote, that no description of the site can match the experience of actually visiting it. A statement fully confirmed by the author.

After the First World War, systematic excavations started and in the following the first tourists arrived. The resident Bedouins were resettled between 1968 and 1985 in order to protect the tombs, which were used as stables and houses. It was the start of mass tourism and today it is world known and the most important destination in Jordan.

In 2007, it was selected one of the seven modern world-wonders and experienced another significant increase of visitors.

Visit
Petra is an extensive national park and costs the very substantial entrance fee of 23 Jordanian dollars (JD) for one day. Two days are relatively cheaper at 28 JD.

After having bought a ticket you will be offered horse and carriages, shortening the 2km to the entrance of the siq. In the site itself, there is an abundance of children / youths offering their donkey and camels for transportation to the various, sometimes distant, points of interest.

No matter how remote your path, you will find little shops offering jewelry, local stones and the like.

Sights
In this section, a short yet by no means comprehensive description of the most important sights as well as the most obvious itinerary for a one-day visit will be given.

The local topography and the restricted access to the city signify that there is just one access for all visitors, causing people to crowd on some narrow places in the central parts of the city on busy
Petra days.

However, Petra is very ample and as soon as you leave the most frequented parts you will find yourself in beautiful and calm mountain scenery consisting out of red-shining sandstone.

The common access leads through the narrow siq to the treasury, which is located at the end of a somewhat wider canyon. The stream of visitors continues to the right to the theater (left hand side) and the royal tombs (right hand side). At his point, the way crosses the wide, dry riverbed of wadi musa and leads to the ancient city center including the big temple, the museum and a restaurant. After that starts the ascent to the monastery.

Siq
The siq is a very narrow (sometimes just 2-3 meters) canyon, rather a crack, which was washed out of the sandstone by flush-floods. After one kilometer of innumerably turns and windings you will suddenly have the mystical view at the facade of the magnificent treasury.

This unforgettable access is the perfect start in the adventure of discovering Petra. You can tell the suspense Burckhardt must have been felt when he came along this narrow canyon and had the first sight of the treasury.

Treasury
Situated right after the siq, the so-called treasury is probably the single most famous structure in Petra. The 40m high and 25 wide facade is cut out of the stone in perfect symmetry. Above the porticos consisting out of two Corinthian columns is a small small round temple sustaining an urn. Bullet holes testify the attempts to break open the supposed treasure, hence the name.

Theater
Discovered only in 1961, the presumably roman theater - like most structures was cut out of the stone. It offered seats for some 5000 spectators.

Royal tombs
These 13 monumental tombs of an impressive size are considered to be royal tombs.

City center
Here was the heart of Roman Petra. The remains of the colonnade street
Petragive an impression of roman splendor and here are the biggest freestanding structures of the ruins. Of particular interest is the "big temple" because of the hexagonal paving tiles, the elephant capital and the integration of a theater right into the temple.

Monastery
The scenic mountain trail to the monastery (Ed-Deir) starts right after the museum in the city center. The name has its origin in the later use of the structure by Christian monks.

After the last turn you suddenly find yourself in front a huge facade. The outstanding size (40 meter high and 47 meter wide) as well as the perfect symmetry makes it one of the outstanding monuments in Petra. As if the ruins would not be enough to justify the ascent, there is a magnificent view at the mountain scenery and the wadis all the way to Wadi Araba. You can theoretically see Israel in the Dust. Just continue about 200m and you will have to choice from two lookouts, which are in stiff competition for visitors. The one to the right offers tea and silver-jewelry produced by a women-cooperative.

Tips and Tricks
Take good shoes as the various structures are scattered and the paths can be rough.

Prepare for constant buy-proposals, donkey and camel-ride offerings and the like. The sellers, mostly women and children are usually as friendly as they are persistent - mind you that they work in a very competitive environment. They are a part of Petra and in order to not ruin the experience you should them consider as such. If you like bargaining you will have a lot of fun.

If you can choose, come in wintertime. The temperature is nicer (it can rain though) and there are fewer visitors.

In wintertime, come early as the sun reaches the treasury only in the morning and it gets cold after sunset in the afternoon.

If you can, plan two days, enabling you to discover more than only the central parts. Sure, one day is better than not coming but two days is more appropriate to the uniqueness of the ruins and also financially much more interesting.

Go for a special visit and book the tour "Petra by night" where you can experience the magical city in candlelight.

The other side of the coin
As with many other top attractions, world-wonders and the like, there are some serious issues to consider. It is not the aim to discourage from coming but to sensitize for some problems and to encourage giving an appropriate feedback to the right persons.

The former small village Wadi Musa is now a chaotic and in some respects outright ugly town, where locals sometimes forget about the traditional friendliness and hospitality still very much alive in other parts of Jordan.

According to "Jordan Business Magazine", 75% of the revenues goes to Amman (and are not coming back) and from the leftovers only a small share is available for the park infrastructure and survey. As a consequence, the severely underfunded park administration is pretty much unable
Petra to provide for adequate facilities and protection of the endangered structures in Petra. This combined with a visitor-boom leads to an accelerated destruction and disrepair of many tombs and other historical evidence.

The young donkey-riders are certainly cute and sometimes useful but consider that their constant presence in the ruins means that they don't attend schools, trading small short-time profit for long-term better opportunities in life.

Nevertheless, enjoy, you are about to have an amazing experience!

by Aurel Christian Schmid - March 24, 2009

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