Mods: I don't know for the life of me what forum to put this in!
So please feel free to move!!
XPosted to Livejournal and emailed to a bunch of people. Fo shizzle.
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Okay, let's face it; the real reason you go to Jordan is to see Petra. There is nothing like it in the entire world and it's one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it's perfectly preserved and looks much the same now as it did 2,000+ years ago, and the size and majesty of it defies description. The challenge to hike it all the way to the top of the mountain and back is daunting to everyone who attempts it for the first time.
The Siq: The beginning of Petra is mostly open and takes maybe about 15 minutes by foot. After walking through the open area, one comes upon the Siq. The only entrance to the city of Petra, the Siq is a narrow, naturally formed canyon that winds and twists for about 1.2 kilometers.
Signs of civilization abound in the Siq, but it was mostly kept up as an entrance to prevent invaders from entering the city.
The end of the Siq presents the first and one of the most famous and breathtaking views in Petra.
The Treasury of Petra is the first building of Petra one sees after exiting the Siq, and is one of the most photographed sites in the world. It's not actually a treasury, however - recent excavations have revealed the tomb of three great kings who resided here underneath the structure.
In the center at the top of the treasury is a sculpture of an urn. The Bedouin peoples who reside in the caves of Petra (and claim to be the direct decendents of the Naboteans who built Petra) have a yearly commemoration where they shoot their rifles at the urn. They believe that Pharaoh hid his treasures in the great urn and that shooting it will eventually rain Pharaoh's gold down onto them. That myth is the main reason it carries the misconception of being a treasury.
Lining the walls of the canyon beyond the treasury are yet more ornate tombs.
Petra opens up after about a kilometer into a wide expanse with buildings carved all into the mountainside in all directions.
This building, another ornate tomb, was converted by the Byzantine Christians into a church in the 6th century AD. Petra has been used and inhabited long after the Naboteans were eliminated.
Okay, upon arriving at the end of the 2-3 mile path and eating at the restaurant there, the Petra pilgrim has a choice: to attempt the infamous 900 steps to the summit of the mountain, or to turn around and go back. To call the 900 steps a difficult task would be an understatement, but there's no way I would be deterred even if it would kill me in the process!
I didn't have one at this point...SO OF COURSE I WAS GONNA GO! Reverse psychology, man!
The steps start out small enough, but keep in mind they are 2,000 years old so many of them are worn out or completely gone.
This is maybe 1/8th of the way up, and it gives you an idea of just how far one has gone even by this point (you can see the carved buildings way off in the distance).
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