[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Petra

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Petra
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1185287367.shtml


   Petra, the ancient Nabataean city that was carved out of rock, whose
   previous claim to fame was being featured in "Indiana Jones and the
   Last Crusade", is famous again. It's just been named one of the [1]New
   Seven Wonders of the World.*

   When I was there in May, the Jordanians were actively campaigning to
   be elected to the top 7. Congratulations Petra!

   [2]marypetra 
   Me in Petra

   At the site, tourists are warned to stay away from unauthorized tour
   guides, but that didn't stop these "guides" from bugging us as we
   walked through the site.

   We were greeted by many 'guides' offering rides on horseback. Since I
   didn't think I could ride a horse for more than an hour without
   falling off, I didn't take the tour, but [3]Judith did. In her
   opinion, it wasn't as much fun as it should have been. Those warnings
   were right.

   [4]petracarriage 
   They also offered horse and buggy rides, but since most of the
   tourists riding in them were grimacing and hanging on for dear life, I
   guessed that the rides were a little bumpy.

   [5]petrachasm 
   The sunny & hot entrance to the site led towards a narrow (and much
   more temperate) shadowy gorge called the Siq.

   [6]petratreasury 
   At the end of the narrow gorge is the the Treasury, carved directly
   out of the sandstone cliff.

   Some [7]wiki facts about the Nabataeans who built the place:

     The Nabataeans worshipped the Arab gods and goddesses of the
     pre-Islamic times as well as few of their deified kings. The most
     famous of these was Obodas I who was deified after his death.
     Dushara was the main male god accompanied by his female trinity:
     Uzza, Allat and Manah. Many statues carved in the rock depict these
     gods and goddesses...

     ...the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply... led
     to the rise of the desert city, in effect creating an artificial
     oasis. The area is visited by flash floods and archaeological
     evidence demonstrates the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the
     use of dams, cisterns and water conduits. Thus, stored water could
     be employed even during prolonged periods of drought, and the city
     prospered from its sale..

     Petra's decline came rapidly under Roman rule, in large part due to
     the revision of sea-based trade routes. In 363 an earthquake
     destroyed buildings and crippled the vital water management
     system.[7] The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity in the
     Middle Ages and were visited by the Sultan Baibars of Egypt towards
     the close of the 13th century. The first European to describe them
     was Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.

   [8]petradamage 
   Other structures may have been just as elaborate as the treasury, but
   they may have been damaged by earthquakes.

   [9]insideview 
   The buidings that weren't damaged by earthquakes show amazing
   resilience. Here's an inside view of an ancient room, carved out of
   rock, still standing and intact after very little maintenance.

   The road through the city was long and hot, so we took a camel ride
   back to the Treasury. That was where we found the 8th New Wonder of
   the world, the Coke-eating Camel.

   [10]petracamel 

   After we rode back to the center of 'town', in front of the treasury,
   the camel driver asked us if we could buy his camel a coke. He said
   the camel loved Coke, and he'd drink the whole can down. (No Pepsi,
   just Coke).

   [11]camelcoke1 
   The camel drank all of the coke...

   [12]camelcoke2 
   ...then he swallowed the can.

   The driver also asked for a cigarette as a tip. I had some cigarettes,
   and yes they were Camels.

   * Link thanks to Judith at [13]Kesher Talk

References

   1. http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=633
   2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/830926015/
   3. http://www.keshertalk.com/
   4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/830925911/
   5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/830925937/
   6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/832185487/
   7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra
   8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/830926261/
   9. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/880982635/
  10. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/876421341/
  11. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/877318561/
  12. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/877318595/
  13. http://www.keshertalk.com/