Somehow I Found My Way – Petra, 04/03/2011

Petra Treasury – View from the Siq

I don’t know where to start.

I never thought I would be writing this entry, I never thought I’d see this port. The Rose City has been the crowning jewel on my list of “things I will somehow see before I die” for over 20 years, and through a series of circumstances, not to mention the current volatile situation in the Middle East as a whole, I had almost given up on ever seeing that dream come true. But, Goddess bless our very determined Captain, he pulled us into Jordan this morning with an hour to spare, despite the fact that we were an hour late leaving Egypt last night and you could feel the ship rattling as he put pedal to the metal to make the deadline over night.

This morning, I finally touched my dream.

I could be sent home tomorrow, I could fall overboard, and do so a happy woman, after today.

Petra is physically impossible to explain. Words can’t capture it, and no photograph, no matter how beautiful, will do it justice. But bear with me, and I’ll try my best.

The Siq canyon (known in popular culture as “The Canyon of the Crescent Moon” thanks to Indiana Jones), cuts through the Jordanian desert as if someone has slashed it there with a dagger, it doesn’t wind, it just curves, for a half an hour. For an extra fee upon entry you can take a fast paced carriage ride to the far end, but walking it is much more fulfilling in the long run. The canyon is a sight in itself, towering on either side of you and making you feel more insignificantly small than anything I’ve yet experienced. There are little niches carved into the rock, the subjects of which are long faded, but if you look closely you can see that they’re tributes to the Goddess the original nomadic tribes that occupied the area (and yes, built the city) followed, this was originally a caravan route, but trade wasn’t the only thing that was important here by a long shot. There are places where the canyon is beautiful and sunny (and even paved) and places where it is dark and sandy bottomed.

Then suddenly it jars to the right, and even though you know it’s coming, even though you think you know what to expect, nothing can prepare you for the sight of the Treasury appearing through the narrow gash that marks the end of the Siq. If you don’t have some reaction, if you don’t choke a little bit (or in my case, and I wasn’t the only one, start weeping), there’s something wrong with your emotional sensors. Your heart turns over, rises into your throat, and lodges there, the emotions are almost tangible. I’m a very spiritual person, and I’ve seen and felt a lot of amazing things, but that first moment, was probably one of the closest things to a religious experience I’ve ever had.

There is a great deal more to Petra than the Treasury of course, it’s a city, nearly fully excavated, with tombs and monasteries, and even modern shops (if you can call them that) run by descendants of the original residents who still live there despite the fact that the government has set up more modern quarters for them in the surrounding town. They aren’t pushy, and having them there adds something to the experience that you can’t really place your finger on.

Petra Panoramic, with Theatre