First off… I made a mistake with our itinerary. Petra deserves two days, even for two people who walk and walk all day, and cover large sites very quickly. There is just so much to see here!
We started at the crack of dawn. We decided to hire one of the guides, and the young guy who walked with us along the narrow gorge (the Siq) towards the ruins was pleasant and knowledgeable. It is a shame however that these guides see barely 1% of the fee that we paid for his services. As we approached the end of the narrow passageway, he stopped us, asked us to close our eyes and then positioned us carefully. Then, on cue with the Indiana Jones theme tune playing on his phone (what did the guides carry 10 years ago?) we opened our eyes and stood in awe of the sight before us. The Treasury, the most famous building in Petra, is a dramatic monument. It is hard to imagine that it is actually carved from the rock, and not a free-standing structure, such is the level of detail and the magnificent scale of the building.
It is of course, well known thanks to the climax of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The rest of the city of Petra is equally impressive. There are mausoleums, a theatre, Roman and Byzantine ruins, a good walk up to the Monastery, and a couple of steep climbs up to look-out points. It is best to get the serious walking done away from the mid-day heat, which is very intense in Petra. You can even visit by night, although we didn’t chance upon the right evening to witness this.
It is rightly listed as a Wonder of the World, and will not disappoint. If you are coming this way, don’t miss out on many of the other great sites that Jordan has to offer, most of which are devoid of the numbers of visitors that Petra attracts.
(Apr 2009)
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