TRAVELLERS TALES - A ROSE RED CITY

It was night, but not dark, for the glow from a thousand candles lit the path ahead. A cool desert wind blew and the clear sky was lit with stars. We followed the crowd, for there were many treading the same route, one that would lead us through the siq, a narrow canyon, to the ancient city of Petra. The candles fluttered but stayed lit, improbably enclosed within simple brown paper bags, showing the way forward as we entered the siq and the stars were lost for a time. Out in the open again we found a place to sit among the throng where we listened to music, unfamiliar to our western ears, and drank hot, sweet tea. Soon it was time to retrace our steps through the candle corridor and back to our hotel. It had been a magical experience, but only a prelude to tomorrow and our full day of exploration of this historic site.

Roman ruins at Jerash

We had arrived earlier from Amman, the Jordanian capital, having first enjoyed a morning exploring the Roman ruins at Jerash, its temples, collonades and columns a wonderful appetiser to our visit here. The 19th century scholar John William Burgon described Petra as “a rose red city half as old as time” a name it gets from the colour of the rock from which many of the city's structures are made. It is thought that Petra dates from the first century BC and was the capital of the Nabatean Arabs. It prospered through trading in francincense, myrrh and spices until an earthquake destroyed much of the city in 363AD. It lay forgotten for centuries to everyone but the local arabs until 1812 when the Swiss explorer Johannes Burckhardt persuaded a local Bedouin to take him to the lost city. Since then it has become increasingly well known and well visited. The next day we joined our guide who would take us through the siq where he would then leave us to wander and explore. We first reached Bab Al Siq, Arabic for “gateway to siq” where there is the “Obelisk Tomb” dating from the 1st century AD and topped with four “nafesh” or pyramids. In the siq itself, which became narrower and higher as we progressed, almost meeting overhead at one point, we were told that most of the rock formations were natural, but some were man- made, including water channels that had been first carved from the rock and then enclosed in pottery. As our guide left us, a pony and trap thundered past, the pony's hoof beats echoing around the canyon, and then we could see the light shining through the split rock revealing the first wonder of Petra, the Treasury or “Al Khazna.” What an entrance! First Glimpse of Petra through the Siq Standing at forty metres high the Treasury is richly decorated with friezes and figures. Its name is derived from the local Bedouin belief that an Egyptian pharoah had hidden treasure there, but the true reason for its construction is still unkown. Some believe it to have been a temple, others that it was a depository for documents. But whatever the reason for its construction it is a wonderful monument.

The Treasury There were camels and donkeys for hire but we were happy to just take the time to look around and stroll through the city taking everything in wondering at the colours of the rock, at the theatre in the rock, which would have held 4000 spectators and at the many homes hewn from the hillside. It was warm, even though it was January, but despite the heat we decided to climb the eight hundred steps to the Monastery, Petra's largest monument. Its name in Arabic, “Ad Deir” was given to it by the Bedouin

The Monastery because of the crosses inscribed on its interior walls by Byzantine christians. We had many “get our breath back” stops along the way but eventually made it to the platea and the Monastery itself. There were visitors at its base, their tiny figures giving a sense of the scale to the building, and some brave (or foolhardy) souls standing on top having scrambled up the rocks. We stood for some time just taking it all in. Having dreamt of this trip to Petra for so long it was wonderful to be here at last. From there we walked a short distance to a spectacular look out with views over the Jordan Valley, but now we had gone as far as we wanted. It was time to return. As we started back down we were passed by a very large man on a small donkey. Not only did it look incongruous but distinctly unsafe as he swayed around in the saddle. I guess he made it to the bottom unscathed as we saw no more of him. As it happened we ourselves decided to give our weary feet a rest and take a donkey ride from the base of the steps back to the siq. We held on tight and tried to hurry the donkeys along. They of course were having none of that and continued at their own steady pace until depositing their rather shaky passengers at the entrance to the siq. View over Jordan Valley

I had taken my binoculars with me. Well, you never know. Although the priority was the archaeology and history, there might be new birds to see in this desert environment! One such was another “rose red,” a bird particular to this desert area. the Sanaai rosefinch. On the walk down to Petra I had been surreptitiously glancing around, searchíng the rocks for any movement which might be the bird I most wanted to see, but to no avail. And it was the same on the way back. I kept looking, but nothing. We were nearing the visitor centre when Jane said “What's that pink bird over there?” Of course it was the rosefinch, and although chastened that I hadn't actually found it myself it was the pink icing on a rather splendid rose red cake!