Explore the Ancient Ruins of Petra Jordan

“Walking along the Siq (dry river bed), I felt a sense of anticipation and nervousness increasing, as I was to finally get the first sight of Petra, a place I had longed to visit for over 30 years. Would I be disappointed by a lack of grandeur? Would it be overrun with tourists like Ephesus? Would it be hassle-central like the Egyptian Pyramids? Round a corner and there, through a dark, tapered opening, were butter-coloured columns, worn carvings, a shadowy doorway …. Moving into the sun-light was like stepping onto a stage, the most theatrical and awe-inspiring entrance to a site I’ve seen anywhere in the world.”

“When going to Petra, it is more impressive in person than in pictures. I traveled through rosy red rocks to a glimpse of an ancient city that was pulsating with magic. It was deafening, I could close my eyes and imagine vividly the people worshipping their gods or burying their dead in the excavated caves. I could hear the music echoing throughout the rocks when the king arrives and see the spices being exchanged at the side of roads. The city still breathed.”

“We were late. We turned up at the gate, but everyone had left. Ahead of us, the way to the Siq was pitch black. Behind, the gaudy lights of souvenir shops gave out a visible haze. I was tempted to run, not wanting to miss the show. At the same time, it was too quiet, too peaceful, too mysterious to miss. My eyes got used to the darkness, and as we progressed slowly down Bab ul Siq I could make out the shapes of rocks and temples around us. There were no horses, or Bedouins, or visitors at that time of night. A shape moved quickly between the columns on the façade of the Obelisk Tomb. Whether it was man or animal, I do not know. I walked on, making for the twinkling lights ahead. The Siq. The narrow canyon that concealed Petra from the outside world for thousands of years was lined with fairy lights, thousands of lights stretching for two kilometres all the way to the Treasury. There were no electrical lights; only tiny, flickering candles showed us the way. Time passed, my eyes got used to the mellow orange light, that made the rocks look eternal, enveloping and everlasting.”

“We walked along the Siq, which is a narrow gorge that stretches about a kilometre from the entrance to the Treasury. I’m not easily impressed, but when the Siq opened up to my first glimpse of the Treasury, I stopped dead in my tracks. The view Literally. Took. My. Breath. Away.”

“But who had a hard time breathing out of the trek, were me and others in the program. Petra was a city, and our tour guide encouraged us to explore this city, highlighting the main viewpoint which was about a ten mile hike up mini mountains in 95 degree weather. The hike was intense because the path to the viewpoint was dangerous, with inches away from 500-2,000 feet drops at some points, and if you’re not careful, can slip on a rock and fall to your glorious death. We were given four hours to reach the viewpoint and take pictures of the highest point of Petra, but forgot it takes about 2 hours to get back down to the bus before it left us. With that in mind, it was a difficult hike because time wasn’t on our side.”

“Once we resumed walking through the Siq, I couldn’t stop staring at the stars above- they were white and dazzling. On the ground, paper lanterns lined the walls of the Siq, illuminating our pathway to Petra. [...] So we immediately stopped talking and walked the gorge in silence, staring up at the red rocks and the star-dotted sky. When we arrived at the Treasury the bedouins were singing by candlelight. And the Treasury’s façade, awash in candlelight, was every bit as beautiful as I’d imagined.”