Petra — the ancient rose city
Sometime in 2007, many folks in India were seized with a desire to do something to ensure that India didn’t lose out on a competition. TV anchors cajoled people, and SMSes were sent to enlist support. Vote please, was the ardent cry.
The competition? A poll to “select” the 7 New Wonders of the world.
It was classic clickbait — even before the word was born. We had to vote to ensure Taj Mahal made it. Please send an SMS or make a call. One would assume it was a sacred duty.
Over a hundred million people from across the world participated in the poll, making it the largest global voting program of the time.
Well, the Taj Mahal did make it, but in the ensuing glee, we lost sight of quite of the other monuments that made it as well (barring, of course, the Great Wall of China that every Indian kid learns about in school).
Many international agencies called out the poll as unscientific, but it did change the fortunes of one of the other ‘wonders’ that made it: Petra — the ancient rose city.
Petra has been a tourist magnet since then, with over a million people visiting it in 2019 alone.
Would it live up to the hype? We weren’t sure, but Khaled, our guide/driver in Jordan had chuckled as he saw us agog after visiting Jerash.
“Wait till you see Petra”, he grinned.
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We didn’t have to wait much longer. We were en route to Petra from the Dead Sea when we noticed a dust storm on the road.
“The desert highway is closed because of the dust storm,” said Khaled. “Too difficult to see the road ahead.”
We secretly hoped it wouldn’t hit us, and we could continue to Petra.
“Don’t worry,” said Khaled. “I can drive you there.”
Petra lies in the Ma’an district of Jordan, nestled between craggy hills. It was declared a UNESCO heritage site in 1985 but people still lived in the ancient city till recently. The government moved them to a town nearby to ensure that the ancient city was not affected.
We reached Petra a little before noon, and had a guide waiting for us at the entrance. “Can you walk?” he asked. “You can take a horse, but if we walk now, I can tell you stories along the way.” That’s like offering candy to Saisudha and me.
We liked him immediately.
“Have you seen the movie Indiana Jones? Transformers? All shot here.” he said as we walked down the mud path. “But first, some old stories.”
“Though Petra is supposed to have been inhabited around 7000 BC, we see a lot of structures from around the 1st century BC when trade along the Silk Roads picked up.
“An Arab tribe called the Nabateans from the region started off providing guards for caravans that wound their way from the Red Sea to China. The journey often took up to 6 months, but trade was lucrative. As trade grew, they realized that rather than traverse the entire length, they could setup facilities in the region they knew well. The region here had a lot of sandstone hills, likely because this entire region was underwater millions of years ago. Sand had petrified into stone over ages, and as the water receded, the hills stood out. They were relatively easier to carve out for staying.
“The ancient name was Rekmu, but dwellings were primitive, as were their religious beliefs,” he said. “It was however, a major centre and finds mention in Arabian, Greek, Roman and even Chinese records from the time.”
The first of the grand structures was the Bab-al-Siq or gateway to the Siq (pronounced seekh — Siq is Arabic for shaft or tunnel).
“This is an ancient tomb,” said our guide.
“Sometime in the early years, this was built for an influential family. The bodies were preserved for 14 days after death when the dwellers celebrated with a feast. Later, they were buried in the floor above and the mountain was carved, likely to placate Djinns.”
As we walked along, he stopped suddenly.
“Do you know we almost forgot the city?” he asked.
Petra was a thriving city when the land route was dominant for trade, but started declining when new sea routes emerged.
It became first a Roman protectorate in the 1st century AD and then was annexed around 108 AD into the Roman empire. The Romans gave it the name it is now carries: Petra.
Sometime in the fourth century AD, a massive earthquake struck the area and the city was abandoned.
However, there was rumor of treasure buried here, so the local Bedouin population did not allow any visitors to the site.
In the early nineteenth century, a Swiss explorer heard stories of Petra and arrived here dressed up as an Arab. He convinced his local Bedouin guide to take him to the city, and wrote about it on his return, which is when it became widely known.
“The city flourished between 9 BC and 48 AD under its king, Aretias IV,” he continued. “The Nabateans were well aware of the limitations here. It rains only 40 days a year, so they had an elaborate system of channels that carried rain water into small check dams that provided for the city through the year.
By now, we had reached the entrance of the Siq.
“This was just the warm-up,” said our guide, his eyes twinkling. “Now, we enter the route to the main city.”
The Siq is a 1.2 km winding road that is cleft between the mountains. It’s likely to have been an outcome of a earthquake underwater eons ago, which was then enlarged by water rushing through the channel.
There are no two ways about it — the Siq is breathtaking!
Breathtaking even today, we could only imagine how astounding it must have felt to ancient travelers and traders. The Nabateans chipped away some parts at the side to ensure that at least two camel loads could pass through simultaneously.
The walls of the Siq occasionally reveal bas relief structure of sacred stones related to ancient Gods who protected travelers through their journey.
Traditionally, Nabataeans worshiped their gods in symbolic form such as square block or triangular baetyls, sacred meteorites, or abstract stone blocks or pillars, sometimes enhanced with schematic eyes and nose.
The most dramatic of the buildings in the city of Petra is undoubtedly the grand treasury — Al Khazneh! It is almost 40 meters high, and is intricately carved. The treasury was likely built in the first century BC.
The structure was a tomb, but there were rumors that treasure was hidden here. The local Bedouins shot at some of the friezes in the hopes of uncovering treasure. They got no treasure, but damaged the sculptures irrevocably.
At its peak, Petra had about 10000 inhabitants. Most lived in caves and dwellings cut into the rock. There are an estimated 5000 caves in the city, but our guide told us that only about 40% of the city has been uncovered so far.
As we walked along the path around the city, we came across another magnificent structure. Petra was influenced by Roman architecture, and hosts the world’s largest amphitheater that’s cut into rock.
The amphitheater could easily seat more than 4000 people at a time, and was used for public events. There are three distinct sections of seats separated by passageways, likely indicating that there were at least three classes of people staying in the city.
A little further ahead, facing the amphitheater lie the royal tombs. These were later given to the Christian population during Roman annexation to house their churches in the fifth century AD.
By now, we had already walked for over two hours, admiring the structures around.
“There is a monastery further ahead,” our guide said, “but you have to climb over 900 steps to get there. Most people will take an hour and half to climb up and back.”
Sudha and I looked at each other. We knew both of us we wanted to go, but it would be too much for Little Rey. Carrying him was also near impossible, given the gradient and the distance.
“Perhaps,” our guide suggested helpfully, “you could try a donkey for him?”
“A donkey?”
“Yeah,” he said, “they are very good climbers.” He signaled to a man holding the reins of three donkeys who was nearby. It would definitely be an adventure for Little Rey. We quickly negotiated a price and set off along the way.
“Keep up with Shakira,” said Muhammed, the donkey owner.
“She’s fast. She’ll climb up in 20 minutes.”
And damn, she was fast.
Sudha and I rushed behind her as she nimbly found footing along the uneven rock cut steps and cantered along.
It wasn’t easy matching her pace, but at least Reyu was having fun, and more importantly, we didn’t have to carry him. I silently said something I would never have imagined saying — thank god for that ass.
And then, after a half hour of chasing the donkey, we reached the top. Ad Deir or the Monastery, is one of the largest monuments in Petra, and was used for religious meetings.
After a quick walk around, we began our descent chasing Shakira again. She dropped Reyu at the Al Khazneh, and we began our walk back through the Siq.
We were tired by the time we were back at the visitor center, but I had a song playing in my head. Sudha turned to me, and I knew she was thinking of the same one.
“Sting?” she asked.
“Yes, it seems apt for the Rose city.”
“Oh yes!” she said.
Sweet desert rose, ele yele
Each of her veils, a secret promise
This desert flower, ele yele
No sweet perfume ever tortured me more than this
Sweet desert rose, ele yele
This memory of Eden haunts us all
This desert flower, ele yele
This rare perfume, is the sweet intoxication of the fall
