DAY 5 - Petra

We woke at 6 am, ate breakfast at 630, and loaded onto the bus for departure by 715. With so much to see and two-days less to do it, we kept a tight schedule! Just past 8 am, we arrived at Petra – for many, the most anticipated site of the entire trip. Two traveling companions, Richard and Larry (both architects by profession), had joined our Israel trip to fulfill a life-long dream of viewing the architectural wonders of Petra. Watching their excitement that morning and as we finally stepped onto the Petra sand was absolutely hilarious, and their enthusiasm was infectious.

As many historical locations within the Near East have become organized state parks, most sites are skirted by large metal fencing and are guarded by tourist police officers for additional security. At Petra, the park employees punched admission tickets like a theme park at the front gate. The entrance at this location seemed more like the chute of a cattle pen, since the gate allowed room for only one person a time to enter through the narrow opening and under a metal detector. Not quite what I had expected. In my mind, I had imagined driving up to the huge mountains and in between the cliffs, to somehow emerge at the steps of the great tomb of Petra after a brief walk. Well, we definitely walked into the mountains and in between cliffs to reach the tomb…but our walk from the front gates to Petra’s main attractions took at least an hour on foot.

Luckily, Firas had plenty of history and geology to explain to us, which made the time pass quickly. We walked down towards the great Treasury through a long, winding passageway, carved by the Nabataeans for travel, with 5-story rock walls towering on each side of the cobblestone-like walkway. The natural colors of the rock itself were more vibrant than any other stone I had seen in my life and displayed beautiful swirled patterns of pink and fuchsia (which brings the famous name "Rose City"), lavender, bright yellow, red and blue. You should see for yourself...

Can you see the remnants of a carving?

The remains of a perfectly engineered water drainage system could be seen along the lower part of the cliff walls on both sides of the path. Large carvings etched in the face of the rock, some 7 to 8 feet high and carved 4 or 5 feet off the ground, and were still partially visible, suggesting the amazing detail with which they were originally designed. We saw one scene of a caravan of camels and a group of people that, in some parts, remained completely unmistakable in form, even after thousands of years of weathering. It was remarkable.

The crowds of people walking with us through the mountain path soon became more excited up ahead and camera flashes went crazy. We rounded the final corner and could see, just barely, through the last hundred feet of the path, our first glimpse of the great Treasury. The cliffs opened up into a large open area in front of the amazing structure, and the hard surface of the ancient road we had walked transitioned into loose, dark red sand; it felt like walking in a giant sandbox.

First sight of the Treasury!

Walking up to a giant, thousand-year-old carved rock, now recognized as one of the seven wonders of the modern world, was a bit unreal. Firas and Dr. Wyrick let the picture taking craze calm down before they even tried to gather our group in a central location to discuss the historical background of the place we were standing. The colossal rock carvings had obviously been hewn directly into the side of a cliff, but the truly amazing fact was the precise way in which they were constructed. To protect each intricate detail of the carvings as they were created, the entire tomb structure had been built from the top down to prevent falling rocks and debris from damaging completed work. Once again, the engineering and architectural capabilities of these ancient people groups astounded me. The builders of Petra were not only unbelievably skilled craftsmen, they were mathematical experts. Careful calculations had to be used prior to construction, so that the foundation of the steps met the base of the cliff at the perfect point. (There's no starting over on a project like this if you run out of rock!)

Past the site of the Treasury, our group split into three's and four's to travel throughout Petra for the day. Heather (a fellow UMHB senior), Linda (a group member from California) and I teamed up for the trek of our lives: climbing nearly 1,000 stairs in one day. But let me tell you, it was well worth it! The locations we hiked to were fantastic. The walk along the way was...well....interesting.

Throughout Petra, hundreds of Bedouin people live and make their livelihood. Along every pathway and beside the few restaurants inside the city, small roadside gift shops were set up to attract buyers in high traffic areas. These shops were primarily operated by women, since the men were employed as taxi service providers. Camels, donkeys and horse chariots were all available for rent.