Petra: Dust to Dust

It seems no work of Man's creative hand,

by labour wrought as wavering fancy planned;

But from the rock as if by magic grown,

eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!

Petra by John William Burgon

I particularly like the way the city is fading back into the rock from where it came.  

This first facade is one of my favourites. The rock seems almost alive and breathing.

Petra: The Monastery

Right at the far end of Petra, high up the mountainside is The Monastery or Al Dier. To reach it takes a long hike up a rocky gorge.

On the way you pass by the Lion Tomb. 

The long walk is worth it when you reach the Monastery which in some ways is more impressive (and probably bigger) than the Treasury. It's location also means you find very few other people there. 

This is Karl Pilkington's take on the Monastery. Viewed from the 'hole' that I took some of my photos from.

Petra: Rocks

Petra means 'rock' in Greek. Here are some abstract photos of rock formations around Petra. I will make them available as wallpapers sometime later.

Petra: The Treasury

As you exit the Siq, directly in front of you is the most well known building in Petra, the Treasury. It stands about 40 metres high and is carved from rose coloured sandstone. To me the most impressive feature was that it had no natural faults in the stone. It was carved to be impressive as the first building travelers would see but luckily as it was carved out there were no cracks or layers of different coloured rock to spoil its features.

The Treasury (or Al Khazneh).

It wasn't actually a treasury, it's believed to be a tomb. My dad told me that the Bedouins thought it held gold and that they would take pot shots with their rifles at the central carving believing that if they hit the right spot it would cleave open and spill all of it's gold. The bullet holes are still there to this day.

The Bedouin's bullet holes can still be seen on the central statue.

The 'postcard shot'.

The footholds carved out on the side of the facade by the stone masons can be seen all the way up the building. I wouldn't fancy it.

The upper level with footholds.

Here's The Sisters of Mercy featuring the rather lovely Mrs. Dave Vanian performing 'Dominion' which was filmed at Petra.

Petra: The Siq

My late father visited Petra 60 years ago when he was on shore leave with the Royal Navy. In those days foreign tours even to the Med, lasted up to two years. Living in Saudi Arabia allowed me the luxury of a short two hour flight to spend a long weekend in Jordan which at a push gave me time to see Petra and a few other sights.

Dad often told me about his visit to Petra. In those days there were no hotels there for visitors, him and his mates gratefully accepted the famed bedouin hospitality and slept among the ruins. I took this trip with him.

Dad at Petra in 1952. Let's hope the Temple family photography
skills and dress sense have improved in the past 60 years.

Petra is a city built by the Nabateaen people in about 1500 BC. The path down to the city starts at the top of a wide valley near the modern day town. On the way you pass several early tombs built in a simpler style than the main city.

An early 'block tomb'

The 'obelisk tomb'

As you continue downwards the valley narrows into what is known as 'The Siq'.

A niche in the Siq wall

A local catching up on his emails

When you get to the bottom of The Siq it is only about ten feet wide. You then have your first view of one of the worlds most iconic buildings. The Treasury.

The Treasury

Muhayl, Saudi Arabia

I found this rather 'catch all' warning sign in Muhayl which would not have been out of place outside a southern baptist church.

But the road back up through the mountains did appear to have a few potential 'pitfalls'.

Aal Mujammal, Saudi Arabia

Aal Mujammal is a small town in the Asir Mountains in south western Saudi Arabia. It's fairly non descript but I chanced upon it and found it has some nice examples of traditional architecture. Many of the buildings reminded me of Yemen.

Tall circular buildings are used as watch towers on the higher slopes but ones like this on the plains serve as grain stores.

The houses have stone 'fins' built into the adobe walls. They dissipate heat in the summer months and I guess help throw rain away from the mud walls in the winter.

Some of the houses rely on thick walls as insulation. This one has an attached yard for the domestic animals. Goats are wildly kept for meat and milk.

The decorations on the houses are also much more colourful that the austere areas further north.

I also like the way the natural materials that are used for construction melt back into the landscape as the buildings decay.