The Red City

We set off bright and early to Petra, a good almost 4 hours drive away from Amman. “Petra” means “Rock Rose Red City” in Greek, and the city truly does live up to its name. The Nabataeans – industrious Arab people who settled in Petra more than 2000 years ago –  carved the rock façade of the city.

The entrance to the city is through the Siq, which is a narrow gorge, over just 1km in length. The Siq reminds me a little of the Grand Canyon, except that this time, I’m walking inside the canyon, rather than getting a bird’s eye view!

At the end of the Siq is the Al-Khazneh (Treasury). Already, our family (mostly Eugenia) was snapping away in true tourist style when we went through the Siq, but the Al-Khazneh… well, it simply took our breath away! Standing at 30m wide and 43m high, this massive façade was carved out as the tomb of an important Nabatean king. In front of the Treasury were tons of donkeys and camels, ready to take eager tourists (in search of an “authentic” experience) for the rest of the journey in Petra.

Going in further, there are hundreds of elaborate rock-cut tombs with intricate carvings. As we have come to learn, there were two massive earthquakes that destroyed many things in Jordan, but these carvings survived these disasters. Truly, every bit of Petra left me in awe. It’s so beautiful, and I’ve never experienced anything like it!

Motorized vehicles aren’t allowed in Petra, and our guide advised us that the walk was rather treacherous and would take several hours by foot, so we opted for horse carriages instead. On hindsight, the visit to Petra is very do-able by foot, and that probably gives you more time to soak in the atmosphere and the surroundings. Also, there was a lot of hidden costs in the carriage ride (it came up to USD 250 for us altogether! And the ride was less than an hour) so I would strongly recommend going by foot instead.

Bitter about being ripped off? A little (maybe more).

Amazing experience? Absolutely.

Love,

Amelia