Don't Touch the Animals! Travel with the Baysides: Jordan

The valley and mountains of Petra

We got to Petra Thursday afternoon. It was about a three and half hour car ride from the Dead Sea Hilton. Petra has a completely different feel from the Dead Sea. The Marriott here is quiet and subdued; the rooms and terraces look out over the valley and mountains. I'm liking the temperature here in Petra much more and I really like the relaxed atmosphere. Here in Petra it's not as hot as the Dead Sea and definitely not as hot as the east desert, but it's still warm and dry and the nights are cool and lovely.

Yesterday, we strolled around the archeological ruins of the ancient sandstone city of Petra. Actually it was much more than a stroll. We walked about 6 miles and only covered a fraction of the site. If you haven't seen pictures of this place before, it's amazing. The entire city is carved out of stone. It was built by a nomadic desert people, the Nabataeans, and it dates back to at least the 4th century BCE. The city began to flourish in the 1st century BCE as it became a hub for caravan trade routes. At its height, the city had a population of nearly 20,000. In the first century BC, Petra became an independent state within the Roman Empire and, in 106 AD, it lost all of its independence to Rome. (I spent a lot of time tripping over the now uneven paving stones that the Roman's left -- they really liked to lay roads). A major earthquake in 363 AD destroyed much of the city and it slowly declined in influence and was eventually abandoned.

To get to the city, you walk about a kilometer and half down a pathway/gorge called the Siq. The Siq narrowly cuts through the sandstone rocks and you eventually emerge at the focal point of the city: the Treasury building.