Petra dates back to around 312 BC and was believed to be the capital city of the Nabataeans. Petra is located inside the confines of the modern city, Wadi Musa. It is tucked into the southern part of Jordan, near the Israeli border, south of Jerusalem.
Its history is rich. It is referenced as Pel, Sela or Seir in Egyptian campaign accounts. The city was founded relatively late, but it is believed that a sanctuary existed there since early ancient times. The Bible lists 42 Stations that the Israelites visited following their exodus from Egypt. Numbers 33, Deuteronomy and Exodus give accounts of these stations, with Petra being referenced in several of these stations. I was awed as I came to grips with the fact that I could be walking on the same stones that the Israelites walked on many years ago.
Entering Petra requires a quarter of a mile walk through the Siq (the shaft), which is a passage way through the rock that spills out into a courtyard of sand revealing the now famous Treasury. This carved fortress introduces the visitor to the city of Petra, and it is an imposing introduction. If you have seen the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, then you too have been introduced to Petra. From there one walks down streets carved out of rock and up stairs also carved out of rock. There is a church, many dwellings, an amphitheater, many tombs and the Monastery, shown in the picture above. Each is carved from solid stone. To reach the Monastery one must ascend over 900 carved steps up a rocky cliff. To comprehend the size, examine the door in the picture closely and you will see a person standing in the door. The size is hard to comprehend from pictures alone. One of the days we were there we stayed in the ancient city until sunset, and we saw Petra at dusk, which is where she gets her other name, the Rose-Red City. At dusk the rocks of Petra turn a rose-colored red, reflecting the light of the sun on the whole city, seemingly changing all of it to this rose-red color. It is quite breathtaking.
While visiting Petra we spent several days in Wadi Musa. We stayed at a hostel and found the hosts very kind and generous. There was always plenty of food and a smile ready to meet anyone who walked through their door. The culture is not like America, and one should not assume, even for a minute, that it is. Most of the Middle Eastern customs are regional and not national.Wadi Musa was no exception. We found that there was greater appreciation for us if we tried to live by the customs, traditions and language of the area. I enjoyed the local food, which was different but tasty. I always had a notebook full of local phrases; that was my attempt to pick up some of the language. Most hostels in the Middle East offer several kinds of rooms and one more option, the roof. We spent several nights on the roof with many others, mostly men. We were given a mattress, a pillow and a wool blanket as it tends to get cold at night in the desert.
I loved my time in Petra and loved the Jordanian people. Most of them were Bedouin, a nomadic people who call Jordan home. They were humble, hard working and always willing to offer help of any kind. Jordan is an interesting country. It is the only country in the Middle East with an open border to Israel. All other countries will not allow you into their country if you have an Israeli stamp on your passport. Israel will give you a slip of paper instead of a stamp so you can travel to other countries in the region.When it came time to leave we simply walked down to the center of town and took a bus to the border. At the border, we had to go through customs again in order to board another bus for Jerusalem. Soon, we were in Jerusalem, but that is for another post and another day. Blessings!
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