Petra Travel Guide

Travel to Petra - Breathtaking ‘Rose Red City’

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Petra was a principal city of the Nabataeans, an Arab race that ruled the land of Edom some 2,000 years ago. Growing rich from the taxes they exacted on passing caravans their spectacular city was constructed in one of the many wadis that cut into the dramatic sandstone mountains.

Water was piped in down a network of terracotta pipes and large cisterns retained it for future use. The Romans coveted the city and eventually captured it in AD106 but as Palmyra in Syria became dominant the city fell into decline, falling into ruin during the Crusader era.

The Swiss explorer Burckhardt heard about the legendary city’s existence from local Bedouin and set about searching for it, eventually finding the site in 1812.

Attractions in Petra

The ancient city of Petra is approached down the famous siq gorge, a canyon with dramatically layered sandstone walls at times only around 4 metres wide but as much as 200 metres high. After around a kilometre the first famous glimpse of the city can be seen, that of its most famous monument, the Treasury. The façade is instantly recognisable, being cut from the face of the living rock and dominating the entrance to the city proper.

Although over 20,000 people inhabited Petra almost no residential buildings have been found – what are visible today are tombs, the Treasury being one of them. After the Treasury the siq opens out here into a wide wadi lined with tombs showing the distinctive banding of the multi-coloured local rock and step-decoration of the Nabataeans.

Passing the 2000+ seat theatre and the start of the trail to the High Place of Sacrifice the valley widens further with the Royal Tombs and others visible before you come to the paved Cardo Maximus in what was the city’s centre. Hereabouts lie the battered remains of several of the city’s buildings along with, at the head of the valley, two small museums. From this part of the city trails lead off in a couple of directions, one to the Snake Monument and another to Jebel Haroun, Petra’s highest peak, where a shrine to the prophet Aaron can be found.

Finally a stiff one-hour walk leads up an at times dramatic path to the unmissable Monastery, a breathtaking monument. Hidden away in the upper mountains the Monastery’s scale is daunting, its doorway alone standing 8 metres high and yet the ‘building’ is beautifully proportioned. This magnificent construction, carved like others from the living rock, provides a superb finale to a visit to the city.

Activities in Petra

Whilst Petra can be visited on a long day trip from Amman this is not recommended nor does it do the city justice: allow at least a full day to see the principal features of the site. 2 days will allow a visit to the outlying parts of the city, such as a walk up to the High Place of Sacrifice a visit to Little Petra. 3 days will allow a climb, with a guide, to Jebel Haroun.

For walkers and ramblers the area is outstanding with many trails to be followed. Walks can range from just a couple of hours with a local guide, up to a week. Areas outside the Petra region can be linked on such treks and this offers the rambler insights into areas seldom visited by other travellers. The beauty of the region cannot be understated in this respect.

Petra also allows travellers the opportunity to learn something of traditional Middle-Easter cuisine as cookery courses are available, as too are more specialist interest tours and activities, such as those with a focus on photography, painting, textiles, botany, bird watching and traditional Bedouin life.

Relaxing

There are several bars and restaurants to enjoy in Wadi Musa – great after a hard day exploring.

Getting Around

Whilst Wadi Musa, the town at the site’s entrance, is linked by bus and minibus to Amman and Aqaba the frequency of service is poor – of the two there is a more frequent service to and from Aqaba, but the best option may be to take a minibus for Ma’an on the Desert Highway and change there for buses to the north and south. By far the easiest way of getting to Petra is on an organised tour where transport and a local guide will make a visit both easier and more rewarding. Once in Wadi Musa shared taxis and regular taxis are the best way to get around if the strung out distances of the village are too much at the end of a day. Be prepared for lots of walking within the site itself.

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