Jordan - One of the New 7 Wonders of the World - Petra

        The most popular attraction and, for some people, the only thing they know Jordan for is Petra. What a great, unique and spiritual place is Petra…

        Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 and in 2007 it was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

The Treasury

        Petra was established by the Nabataeans, which were known to be a nomadic Arab tribe that moved across the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. They were masterful merchants and genius hydrological engineers who grew wealthy through trades. Nabataeans named their city Rekem or Rekmu, but when the Romans annexed Petra, they called it Arabia Petrea, Petra being the Greek word for “rock”.

        Before entering the site, you can visit a small museum to get a brief history of what Petra was and what is in the present. Also there is a cinema room where you can watch 3 short documentaries.

        There are 8  different trails with difficulties varying from easy to hard, the shortest one being 1,5 km long and the longest one 10 km. Sadly for us, we did only the Main Trail (8 km long) since our time here was only one day. This was more like an introduction, but I loved it so much that I plan to come here again and take at least 2-3 days only in Petra to see everything.

Map with all the trails of Petra

        As you enter the site, you’ll be greeted by people who will invite you to take the horse ride which is (said to be) included in the price of the ticket. Of course, as I mentioned in the Petra - Overview, nothing in Jodran is given for free, even though you technically already paid for it. The jordanians ask for 10 JOD / person to ride you no more than one kilometer on the back of a horse. If you bring up that “the horse ride is included in the price of the ticket” they’ll just say they want a prepaid 10 JOD tip, otherwise they don’t let you get on the horse. I’ve learned to not let these kind of things to ruin my vacation here, so we took the rides and took some nice pictures with the dear horses. Jordanians should just realize that this kind of greed (and lets say even robbery) is not bringing any good. They would make so much more money if they offered the horse ride to everybody “for free” and then people would tip them anyway with whatever amount of money they would like to.

        But let’s get over this moment.

        The first attraction you’ll see are the Djinn Blocks which are three massive squared monuments. The horses stop in front of the Obelisk Tomb. The obelisk was carved as funerary symbol by the Nabataeans in the 1st century AD. Above the tomb are four pyramids as well as a niche with a statue in bas-relief that is a symbolic representation of the five people buried there. Here, the horse trip finishes and the guys take some pictures of you and leave.

Djinn Blocks

Horse riding stops at Obelisk Tomb

        From here, you will start your incredible journey though the canyons of Petra, called The Siq. This narrow gorge resulted from a natural splitting of the mountain. The 1,2km paved road is an original relic from Petra’s past. This road is unbelievably beautiful; at least for me since I enjoy rocks 😊) It gives the chills of being in another world. You don’t see anything else, just some fine lines of the sky right above your head, the winding road and the great thick colorful walls of stone. On the way you will also encounter The Dam, which is a tunnel cut in the rock to divert the flash floods.  

The Siq

The Dam - Nabataeans were masters in hydrological engineering

        Through this beautiful road of The Siq you are led to the most iconic place from Petra – The Treasury of Al Khazna. The revealing of its most magnificent façade is so dramatic and exciting as you come to see more and more of it as you advance to the end of the Siq. A 40 meters high monument decorated with Corinthian capitals, friezes and figures will come before your eyes. The Treasury is crowned by a funerary urn which, according to local legend, conceals a pharaoh’s treasure. It is thought to be constructed in the 1^st century BC.

The Treasury starting to reveal itself

        Here are people from all over the world; taking pictures, smiling, riding camels, screaming from the back of the camels 😊), enjoying one of the Wonders of the World. If you want to get on the back of a camel, you’ll need to pay another 5 JOD/person. This time there will be no riding, just getting up, letting the Jordanian guys take pictures of you and the Treasury and then getting down.

Posing on a camel with The Treasury

        There is a point of view where most of the people take their pictures with The Treasury. On the right of the Treasury there is a path on the rocks you must climb in order to get there. The bad part is that there is a “guardian” who will ask for another 5 JOD/person to let you pass. What? You thought it was free? Nah. He says that “you must pay and go there only with a guide”. We gave him the money, walked past him and waited on the rocks. Nobody came. People who were entering, headed directly to climb the rocks by themselves. I asked a Jordanian guy who came there if he is the guide. He said “there’s no guide, you must go on your own”. I argued with him because we’ve been lied to but let it be and went up. It is pretty steep and slippery, sometimes you need to go on your all four to reach the destination. At the destination there were some bedouins with a tent, making tea and aroma therapy and taking pictures of the tourists standing on their traditional pillows laid on the ground. Here we did not had to pay anything, surprinsingly.

View point of The Treasury

Bedouins

        Up next, we continued our way to the left side of the Treasury and arrived at The Street of Facades. This place is actually a row of monumental tombs carved in the cliff face.

The Street of Facades

        The Theatre is carved into the side of the mountain and can accommodate up to 4000 spectators. What is special about this Theatre is that is the only one in the world that was carved into the rock. Right above the Theatre, on the top of the mountain there is a place of worship named High Place of Sacrifice. You can reach this place by climbing rock-cut steps to the top where you will be rewarded with spectacular views of the ancient city below. This place was used for important religious ceremonies.

The Theatre

        Climbing up next on a hill on the main road, you will arrive at The Royal Tombs. There are four magnificent facades adjacent to each other at the end of the main path. These four structures are: Urn Tomb. Silk Tomb. Corinthian Tomb and Palace Tomb.

The Royal Tombs

        There are so many other places and monuments to see here. Among the most important are: The Nymphaeum, The Church, The colonnaded Street, Great Temple, Qasr al-Bint, The Lion Triclinium and Ad Deir. 

        From The Royal Tombs we had to turn back because the time was ticking. Here you’d need at least 2 days to see the whole ancient beautiful city of Petra, which is definitely a mesmerizing experience. If you are a traveler who lives in Eastern Europe, Jordan it's just a few hours away by plane. With all its "bad" experiences, I would totally recommend to visit it.