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This week's Modern Magellan features guest writer Rob Harbison, who has written about the Ancient city of Petra. We hope that you enjoy this issue. Modern Magellan Editorial Team The explorer walked through the opening in the towering cliff side. The path twisted to the left and to the right for almost a mile; nearly all sunlight was shut out. Then, suddenly, through an opening he saw the stunning site of an ancient city, lost for almost one thousand years. Indiana Jones? No, but he was there in the movies. The explorer was Johann Burckhardt, a Swiss explorer. And the lost ancient city was Petra, "the Rock".  Petra was the capital city of the Nabataeans, a tribe of pre-Roman
Arabs who dominated the Jordan region around the Sixth century BC.
They carved a wonderland of temples, tombs and elaborate
buildings out of SOLID ROCK. It was located at the crossroads of
ancient trade routes, which made the city wealthy from tolls and
taxes collected from traders. That wealth lured several armies
bent on conquest. But despite several attempts, Petra remained
independent until the beginning of the Roman Empire. In 106, the
Romans led by Emperor Trajan, finally captured Petra, marking the
beginning of the decline of the city. Petra was still inhabited during the Byzantine period (A.D. 500 -
A.D. 1500). Two 12th-Century Crusader Castles were built
within the city. But soon after, Petra was deserted and forgotten.
Many legends surrounded the city, and many explorers tried in vain
to find it, but it was not until 1812, that Johann Burkhardt,
guided by some nomads, found his way inside Petra.
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The Nabataeans were among the Ancient World's greatest engineers.
Petra is approached through a narrow, deep gorge or siq, which winds
for about 1km through a massive wall of rock. This is at some points
less than nine feet wide and its vertical walls tower to a height
of 600 feet, making Petra one of the best-defended cities of all time.  At the end of the siq appears the impressive monument of el Khazneh,
the Treasury. This is believed to be a royal tomb, which was
carved out of solid rock in the side of the mountain. Beyond
this, a stairway cut in the rock takes the visitor to rock-
carved streets lined with hundreds of temples, royal tombs, large
and small houses, banqueting halls, water channels and
reservoirs, baths, monumental staircases, markets, arched
gates, public buildings and paved streets. There is also a
gigantic Roman theatre, seating 3,000. At the ruins of Petra a person can step back in time, and walk through a lost world fabulous achievements. It is a truly spiritual experience. Written by Robert Harbison. Mysterious Marvels in Jordan Petra Article for the "Globe and Mail" Discovering Petra from "Salon" PetraMoon Tourism Nebo Tours Petra: Jordan's City in the Rock Petra, the official Jordanian site |
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