Petra - In the Maze of Time

Ad-Dair - The Monastery whose dark interior was once a Christian Temple.

By Piotr Wesolowski

The way wound down  ... through a labyrinth of red cliffs. They towered now on either side. Sarah felt stifled – menaced by the ever narrowing gorge. ... It grew dark – the vivid red of the walls faded.                               

(-) Agatha Christie, Appointment with Death

A dark canyon winds its way to a stunning view of Khazneh al-Faroun, the Treasury with its elegant façade in a glaringly rose colour. Carved in rock, likely a tomb of a mighty Nabatean ruler,  Al-Khazneh towers over  a circular crevice tucked in between the sky high jebels.

Petra, begins here; a sandy pathway leads on through a ruined city that still boasts an ancient Roman theatre that was meticulously cut into a hillside, funerary halls, tombs,  temples - all ornate with exquisite façades - and countless edifices  whose uncertain use adds to the aura of mystery that shrouds the capital of the ancient Nabatea. 

A trek up steep stairs sculptured in rock, dangerously smoothed by centuries of erosion, ends opposite another monumental structure, ad-Dair, the Monastery, whose dark and cavernous interior is said to have once been a home to a Christian church.  Ad-Dair is best visited later in a day, when from a place further up the ridge, bathed in the crepuscular mist, the mountains feebly sketch out against the backdrop of the setting sun.

After many exhausting hours – dawn through dusk – I enjoy a moment of respite. I drink hot tea – sugared and served with mint in a glass tumbler that burns my fingers.  I chat   with accidental friends united here by a shared sense of marvel. I stretch my blistered feet and indulge in the comfort of a thick carpet that covers the sand floor in a Bedouin tent. The day came to a close; the sun rose and set on Petra. I think I’ve witnessed a moment of eternity. These rocks, these mountains take me back to the beginnings of time. These ruins witness to finitude of material dreams.

Christie referred to it as a dead city and what’s in fact left of a great culture is tombs, and more tombs. But the British authoress was far from giving in to the first impression; hers was a deep reflection on time, on the transient nature of things.  Still, perhaps because of the scorching heat of the sun, the exhaustion, thirst (a constant companion); Petra appears unreal, ephemeral and yet eternal - carved in rock, chiselled in time. I brood on the very reason I’ve been drawn to this city that is misplaced in the desert and time. It had to be a photograph of the façade of Al-Khazneh – a temple hewn out of rock whose pink luminosity gives Petra’s photographs the nostalgic quality of the colour-faded snapshots. Past is an intrinsic part of Petra, I reckon, and entering the city, from the moment of immersion in a cool and sinuous gorge, is like stepping back into distant history, and the feeling is both intense and enlightening.

Al Siq - A gorge that leads to a stunning view of the Treasury carved in a glaringly pink rock.

First stars appear in the darkening sky as I begin my descent. It is dark when I reach al-Siq. Rows of candles  placed in paper bags light my way out. It is almost time for the night tour of Petra. I will skip the show; leave before the torch-armed caravan enters the site. I will head back to the hotel, rest, get ready for the next day. Tomorrow, I will roam again in the city that is dead and yet eternal.

Situated in southern Jordan, Petra  constitutes a World’s wonder not to be missed. Built sometime in the 3rd century B.C.  by the Nabataeans, an Arab tribe of skilled merchants,  Petra thrived on the commerce in frankincense and myrrh and while conveniently located on the route from the Persian Gulf to Damascus, part of the ancient Silk Road, it drew large profits from trade with the passing caravans.

Yet, the city of Petra went through its many successive periods: Greco-Roman and Byzantine, to name just a few; each leaving its mark and the numerous Egyptian mouldings,  Roman façades, Hellenistic columns  and recently excavated foundations of a Byzantine temple - complete with intricate mosaic floors -  contribute to Petra’s architectural mosaic.

Little is known about the Nabateans. They likely spoke Aramaic -  the language of Talmut;  yet most of their writing survived in Greek. Still, they are credited with the invention of Arabic alphabet.  They were gifted engineers capable of designing complex systems of hydraulics. They used   pipelines, controlled the frequent flash floods. They built reservoirs, stored and sold water. They were brilliant architects endowed with a special taste for ecclectism; they blended styles easily and with harmony. They were also shrewd merchants whose city prospered, grew in prestige as well as beauty. 

Still, in a way similar to Machu Pichu, Tical, or Angor Wot, Petra has been mysteriously abandoned. And again, it was not because of a war, a siege followed by a savage pillage; instead, though it had been finally annexed to the Roman Empire and gradually declined, “the rose-red city” actually succumbed to a devastating earthquake that ravaged the region. As of approximately the 4th century A.D., Petra gradually fell into ruin and long oblivion.

It was re-discovered and made known in 1812 by a Swiss adventurer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Burckhardt swore to be a Muslim on a pilgrimage to a nearby Mount Aaron where he was to offer a gift of sacrifice. Mount Aaron, or Jabal Haroun, is the resting place of the Prophet. He gained thus trust of the local Bedouin tribe and was allowed a glimpse of the ‘lost city’ concealed from the World by chains of harsh and impenetrable mountains. Interestingly, perhaps pained by his conscience,  Burckhardt did later convert to Islam.

For centuries,  Burckhardt’s discovery fed the imagination of poets - John William Burgon; writers – Agatha Christie;  and filmmakers – Steven Spielberg whose Indiana Jones ended his quest for the Holy Grail nowhere else but in the crypt of Petra’s Treasury.

In 1985, with over 800 monuments hewn into solid rock, Petra was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site and has officially become ‘one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage.’

Today, day in and day out, hordes of tourists cram the little plaza opposite the awe inspiring Al-Khazneh. Some, in small or large groups, roam the streets past the many façades, the amphitheatre; rest in the shade of the Palace Tomb. Few venture as far as the High Place of Sacrifice;  even fewer make it as far ad-Dair. However,  streets of the ancient Nabataean capital teem with life again. At dusk though, when the sun sets behind the horizon and the last visitors enter the dark as-Siq on their way out, the “rose-red city half as old as time” resumes her composure “...eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!”

Text and images reproduced by kind permission of Piotr Wesolowski.

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