Jordan. Secrets of Petra: Rock-Hewn City of the Last Crusade
Located in southern Jordan’s Arabah Valley, the city of Petra was founded in the 5th millennium BC by Arab nomads known as Nabateans. Taking advantage of their settlement’s location along a trade route linking Aqaba to the south with Damascus and Bosra to the north, the Nabateans carved monuments, tombs, and residences into steep sandstone cliffs of a narrow wadi (valley). Soon after reaching its zenith in the 1st century AD, Petra was incorporated into the Roman Empire and renamed Roman Petraea. Emperor Hadrian is reported to have visited the city in 125.
Petra’s importance declined as sea routes replaced longstanding land-based trading networks. In 363, an earthquake damaged many of the city’s buildings and during the 12th century, Petra was occupied by crusader armies. Abandoned, the settlement was rediscovered in 1812 by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt and in 1929, a team led by British archaeologists excavated portions of the city. Today, Petra is among the most popular cultural attractions in Jordan. Listed in 1985 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the ancient city receives over a million visitors each year.
Departing Amman in our rental car, we reached Petra after a six-hour drive that included a stop to swim in the Dead Sea. The following day we began our walking tour at the city’s east entrance. We first had to pass through a narrow 1.2-kilometer gorge called the Siq that is just 3-4 meters wide in some places. Carved into the base of canyon walls are narrow channels once used to bring water into the city. The Siq abruptly opens to a wider section of the canyon that reveals a massive building façade carved in the pink sandstone called the Treasury (in Arabic, Al-Khazneh). It is believed that the Treasury was constructed as a mausoleum for Nabatean King Areta IV. Measuring 24 meters tall by 37 meters wide, the building’s Hellenistic design is attributed to Petra’s trade links with ancient Greece. Carvings of the twin gods Pollux and Castor are featured in alcoves above the doorway. Inside, the building’s interior has a hallway leading to three small rooms. Fans of the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade would be disappointed to know that the Treasury has no secret corridors. Since 1997, visitors have not been permitted inside due to concerns about damage to fragile walls and doorways.
Our tour of Petra continued as we walked past en-Nejr, a semi-circular Roman theater built on the side of the canyon that could hold 8,500 spectators. Farther down the canyon is Palace Tomb, located near a row of buildings cut into the rock wall called the Royal Tombs. We continued along a road once lined with Roman columns. On the day we visited, an excavation sponsored by Brown University was underway at the Great Temple. With grand staircases, spacious courtyards, and stucco-covered walls, the Great Temple was the heart of the city and a symbol of Petra’s wealth and influence.
A rocky trail took us to our final stop, the magnificent sandstone façade known as the Monastery (aka Ad Deir). Standing 45 meters high, it is Petra’s largest monument. Combining Nabatean and Greek architectural elements, the Monastery was built in the 1st century AD. Like the Treasury, the entire structure was carved from the sandstone cliff without the need for support columns. Inside is a single large room. Although archaeologists are unsure of the building’s original purpose, evidence suggests that it was adapted to serve as a church during the Byzantine era.
Bound for Aqaba to the south, we departed Petra with less than an eighth tank of gasoline in our rental car. After driving for 20 minutes with the “low fuel” light illuminated, we stopped to ask a policeman for directions to a gas station. We learned that gas stations in Jordan are not often in obvious places such as along major highways!
