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Africa
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Caravan to the lost city

By Tricia Welsh

January 15, 2006

THERE can be few sights left in the world today that have
the "wow" factor of the rose city of Petra, in Jordan.

Lost city found ... a cameleer at the
ancient Al-Khazneh at Petra. Picture: Getty
Images

Discovered only about 200 years ago, after having been
hidden for more than 2000 years, its spectacular monuments
have not been over-exposed to the world. It is well off the
beaten track, and none but the intrepid traveller ventures
through the desert landscape to visit.

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One can only imagine the look of astonishment on the face
of Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt when, in 1812, he
became the first European in modern times to discover this
extraordinarily preserved 4th century BC capital of the
Nabateans.

At just 28, Burckhardt was already fluent in Arabic and had
lived in Syria for two years. He had heard stories about some
amazing ancient ruins in the mountains – but that was as close
as he got, for the Bedouins who lived there were suspicious of
foreigners.

He had to devise a way to fool them, so he dreamed up a
scheme declaring he had vowed to slaughter a goat at the altar
of Aaron, which he knew to be located at the end of the
valley.

His ruse worked. After entering Petra, he wrote in his
journal that the "rose-red" city was "one of the most elegant
remains of antiquity existing".

We are on a Sheiks, Souks and Sunsets tour of Jordan and
Egypt, where Petra proves to be one of the absolute
highlights.

Although there are horses, donkeys and horse-drawn
carriages to transport visitors through the ancient city and
surrounds, we decide we need the exercise and take shanks's
pony. We can see more anyway, we decide, and stop often to
admire, investigate and wonder in awe at the skill and
knowledge of these early masons.

Entry to the ancient city is via As-Siq, an 800m-long
narrow canyon with rock walls veering up some 200m overhead,
the width varying from just a few metres to perhaps a regular
road's width. Along either side of the pathway, water channels
can still be seen cut into the walls.

"The one on the left was for animals; the one on the right
with its original terracotta pipes was for the town drinking
supply," says our guide, Ahmed Abu-Jabal, who gives a potted
history of the area as we go.

As we venture through the last few metres of Siq, and get
our first glimpse of the elaborate facade of the two-storey
Treasury, or Al-Khazneh, we experience the same feeling of
total disbelief young Burckhardt must have done.

Carved into the 40m rock face, the exquisite classical
Greek-style Treasury has withstood the ravages of time
primarily because its creators cleverly positioned it in
another narrow gorge on the side of Jebel al-Jilf at a
T-junction with the Siq – well hidden for all those centuries
from marauding tribes and the harsh desert elements.

Its elaborately carved facade features deities and
mythological figures, believed to be funerary symbols, topped
with an eroded goddess holding a cornucopia. It was created as
a burial tomb for the Nabatean king Aretas III; pirates are
said to have used it to hide their treasures, hence its name.

Today, Desert Patrol police guard the Treasury. They are
kitted out in stunning full-length khaki dress robes, red
checkered headscarfs or keffiyahs and thick Arabian versions
of Sam Browne belts with long red tassels and signature dagger
at the waist. They patiently pose for happy snaps, as do
hopeful cameleers and their colourfully fringed mounts while
touting for business.

Now a UNESCO world heritage site, Petra is Jordan's premier
tourist drawcard, attracting some 300,000 visitors a year.
Located between the Dead and the Red Seas about three hours by
car south of Amman and two hours north of Aqaba, the desert
odyssey of just getting there adds to its fascination.

Petra (it means "rock") was the capital of a huge kingdom
that extended from Aqaba on the Red Sea to Damascus in the
north, west to the Mediterranean and the desert to the east.

According to guide Ahmed, Nabatean history is sketchy and
has come via Greek historians, possibly gleaned from their
tombs. They were, however, great desert traders and often
referred to as a "national transport carrier", since they
amassed their huge fortune by taxing everything transported
through their region from frankincense, myrrh and spices to
silk travelling along the Silk Route from China.

They began to lose their power and in AD 106, the Romans
captured Petra, followed by the Muslims during the 7th century
and finally the Crusaders in the 12th century.

Local Bedouin tribes then made it their home, and today
many eke out a living selling souvenir bottles of coloured
sand featuring camels and desert designs, chunks of the local
rock, primitive dolls and simple peasant jewellery.

The city is astonishingly vast and is as notable for the
extraordinary colours of the rock as for the 800 documented
sites spread throughout the valley. Half carved and
half-built, it features around 500 tombs – some elaborately
carved, others simple holes cut into the sandstone rock face.

Most major sites are easily accessible, although some
require the skill of a mountain goat, but to enjoy the
spectacular desert scenery and appreciate the importance of
some sites such as the Royal Tombs, especially the Urn Tomb,
the short climbs are worth it.

Sensible people on donkeys pass us as we venture up the
800-plus steps to view the equally imposing Monastery, called
Al Deir, carved high into the mountain rock face on the other
side of the Wadi Musa. We sip a strong coffee and buy copies
of old Nabatean jewellery from local craftswomen.

On the trek out, we are sorely tempted to take a horse,
camel or donkey as owners, desperate to make a few last
dirhams for the day, spy our fatiguing bodies as the setting
sun paints the valley shades of gold and red.

The writer was a guest of Temptation Tours.

FACT FILE

Getting there: Emirates flies to Dubai twice daily
from Sydney, with connecting daily services to Cairo. Onward
connections to Amman are operated by EgyptAir. Details: 1300
303 777 or www.emirates.com/au

Best time: From late October through November, and
late January to May, avoiding hottest, coldest and wettest
times of year.

Cost: The Sheiks, Souks and Sunsets tour $2480 for
17 days touring Egypt, Sinai and Jordan, departing Thursdays
from Amman.

Details: 1300 558 019 or www.temptationtours.com.au

The Sunday Telegraph

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