Journey to Petra
(From the 2010 Archives)
The Backstory: Don and his wife had been in Egypt the day before this shot was taken, and Don, being the adventurer, stopped at a street-side cafe to enjoy one last cup of tea before traveling on to Jordan. Apparently, the tea water had not been boiled sufficiently and Don was extremely ill within a few hours. His wife and fellow travelers managed to get him to Jordan and put him to bed. After a night’s sleep and a large quantity of Imodium, Don was back on the Camel, so to speak, and made it to Petra where he took this photo with his trusty Point and Shoot.
Petra is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Petra lies around Jabal Al-Madbah in a basin surrounded by mountains which form the eastern flank of the Arabah valley that runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of their kingdom, as early as the 4th century BC.
The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub.
The trading business gained the Nabataeans considerable revenue and Petra became the focus of their wealth. The Nabataeans were accustomed to living in the barren deserts, unlike their enemies, and were able to repel attacks by taking advantage of the area's mountainous terrain.
They were particularly skillful in harvesting rainwater, agriculture and stone carving. Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its famous "The Treasury" structure – believed to be the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV – was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants.
Although the Nabataean kingdom became a client state of the Roman Empire in the first century BC, it was only in 106 AD that it lost its independence. Petra fell to the Romans, who annexed Nabataea and renamed it as Arabia Petraea. Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 destroyed many structures.
In the Byzantine era several Christian churches were built, but the city continued to decline, and by the early Islamic era it was abandoned except for a handful of nomads. It remained unknown to the world until it was rediscovered in 1812 by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.
Access to the city is through a 1.2-kilometre-long (0.75 mi) gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the The Treasury.
Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system, Petra is also called the 'Rose City' because of the color of the stone from which it is carved. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage".
Journey to Petra
(From the 2010 Archives)
The Backstory: Don and his wife had been in Egypt the day before this shot was taken, and Don, being the adventurer, stopped at a street-side cafe to enjoy one last cup of tea before traveling on to Jordan. Apparently, the tea water had not been boiled sufficiently and Don was extremely ill within a few hours. His wife and fellow travelers managed to get him to Jordan and put him to bed. After a night’s sleep and a large quantity of Imodium, Don was back on the Camel, so to speak, and made it to Petra where he took this photo with his trusty Point and Shoot.
Petra is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Petra lies around Jabal Al-Madbah in a basin surrounded by mountains which form the eastern flank of the Arabah valley that runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of their kingdom, as early as the 4th century BC.
The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub.
The trading business gained the Nabataeans considerable revenue and Petra became the focus of their wealth. The Nabataeans were accustomed to living in the barren deserts, unlike their enemies, and were able to repel attacks by taking advantage of the area's mountainous terrain.
They were particularly skillful in harvesting rainwater, agriculture and stone carving. Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its famous "The Treasury" structure – believed to be the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV – was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants.
Although the Nabataean kingdom became a client state of the Roman Empire in the first century BC, it was only in 106 AD that it lost its independence. Petra fell to the Romans, who annexed Nabataea and renamed it as Arabia Petraea. Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 destroyed many structures.
In the Byzantine era several Christian churches were built, but the city continued to decline, and by the early Islamic era it was abandoned except for a handful of nomads. It remained unknown to the world until it was rediscovered in 1812 by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.
Access to the city is through a 1.2-kilometre-long (0.75 mi) gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the The Treasury.
Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system, Petra is also called the 'Rose City' because of the color of the stone from which it is carved. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage".