Posted on 04/15/2009 11:18:43 AM PDT by nickcarraway
No city ever made a more dramatic entrance. Petra, the capital of the ancient Nabataeans, in present-day Jordan, is accessible only by a chasm called the Siq, nearly a mile long. Its sandstone walls, gorgeously marbled in every vivid and delicate shade of red, pink and rose, occasionally veined in cobalt blue, rise more than 600 feet high. All monumental architecture, from the pyramids of Giza to the Empire State Building, acquires some of its power to inspire awe by making the visitor feel small; walking through the Siq leaves one feeling antlike.
The chasm abruptly terminates in a small sandy clearing at the foot of the magnificent Hellenistic façade of al-Khazneh, the Treasury, carved into the face of a crimson cliffside. The celebrated icon of Petra, reproduced on a thousand travel posters and in sun-purpled photographs in every shop and café in Jordan, the Treasury easily overcomes its familiarity when seen in person, lifting the gaze and the spirits of everyone who makes the journey to see it. From this spectacular entrance, Petra spreads for miles. Almost all that remains of the city -- great temples and markets, ornamented tombs, lavish public baths, a theater -- was excavated and ornately carved from rose-colored rock 2,000 years ago.
The site possessed every possible advantage. The Siq narrows at some points to just two or three yards across, which meant that an army on camelback had to enter Petra single file, making the city effectively impregnable. In a land surrounded by sterile desert, Petra was watered by a perennial stream. The Nabataeans were masters of water management who devised an ingenious system of dams, canals and aqueducts (long before the Romans arrived) that created an artificial oasis in the midst of the eastern Negev.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
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Been there!! It is FABULOUS@!!! Like NOTHING you’ve ever seen!! EVERYONE shouyld go there!
Visited last year and thought it was incredible.
Here's a photo w/people in it, for perspective.
Where else did you go? We went to Amman....very nice...and Jerash.....VERY Ancient and very nice also! We went from Jerusalem.
To freepers who haven’t been there, it looks like it was BUILT, but it was CARVED out of the rock! And the inside is a HUGE Room ....all squared walls just like it was built, but it was CARVED......AWESOME!!!!!!!
How long would it take you to carve that?
The craftmanship is amazing for sure.
Isn’t it interesting that the more “technological” our society has become, the level of craftsmanship has declined. Amazing feats of architecture were accomplished with sometimes crude tools. Even when I visit someplace, that was built early in the last century, like the Biltmore House in NC, or Ringling’s House Ca d’Zan in Sarasota, and look at the artistry in the woodworking, I realize there’s no one around who could do that kind of work today.
My ship pulled into Aquaba, and our time off the Navy base there was strictly limited. I went out into Aquaba for shopping and to relax at a couple hotels in addition to the Petra tour and that was it. There was a trip to the Dead Sea, but I skipped it.
"He chose... poorly."
I’ve finally found it! The resting place of the Holy Grail
Isn’t that the TRUTH!!! ART also! Look at what passes for art today!!
Been there a couple of times and it is incredible. Only disappointment was not being able to stay till evening when the light for photographs would have been perfect.
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I was looking for the pic I’ve seen (probably NG) that was taken from that round rooflike thing center top of the facade; the pic was taken looking outward, and there’s a bedouin reclining near the edge, for scale. Oh well, these are nice:
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/images/ga/jordan_lookout-over-stone-city.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2xZHItZMl6M/SE4In8wvdUI/AAAAAAAABBw/i2ZXus8TKnI/s400/treasury+entrance.jpg
Was there in 1996.....agree! Highlight was climbing to the top of the monastery and unfurling a flag while on top of the circular section!
Aretas III Philhellenos built this Hellenistic wonder-—one of their gods was Allat—later mentioned in the koran.
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