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JORDANJust north east of Egypt lies a country with a wealth of treasures. Jordan has a rich inheritance from bygone civilisations and the remains of these attract many visitors. The highlight of any visit must be the 'Rose Red City' of Petra, carved into the rock thousands of years ago. North of the country and the lowest point on the Earth is the Dead Sea, where you can effortlessly float on the surface due to the high salt content. Follow in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia as you visit the wind sculpted hills of Wadi Rum where scenes from the famous film were shot. Our escorted tours offers superb sightseeing and will show you the true beauty of this ancient country, highly recommended. Visit Petra from Amman, the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh or part of our Jordan Explorer tour. Jordan highlights • Journey through history and discover the ancient ruins of Jerash and the World Heritage site of Petra • Camel ride through the unforgettable desert of Wadi Rum • Float effortlessly in the Dead Sea, renowned for its unusually warm, salty, buoyant, mineral rich water • Scuba diving amongst the abundant marine life of the Red Sea resort of Aqaba • Combine a visit to the ancient sites with a swim, or game of tennis in the afternoon Dana representing Pella Tours www.pellatours.net at ITB in Berlin, Germany March 2007 Petra, The Treasury, Jordan The site is semi-arid, the friable sandstone which allowed the Nabataeans to carve their temples and tombs into the rock crumbling easily to sand. The colour of the rock ranges from pale yellow or white through rich reds to the darker brown of more resistant rocks. The contorted strata of different-coloured rock form whorls and waves of colour in the rock face, which the Nabataeans exploited in their architecture. .jpg "jordanastonedo_(Small).jpg") From the official entrance to the site, a dusty trail leads gently downwards along the Wadi Musa (The Valley of Moses). Situated in small rock outcrops to the left and right of the path are some small Nabataean tombs, carved into the dry rock. Beyond these, walls of sandstone rise steeply on the left, and a narrow cleft reveals the entrance to the Siq, the principal route into Petra itself. The Nabataeans were expert hydraulic engineers. The walls of the Siq are lined with channels (originally fitted with chamfered clay pipes of efficient design) to carry drinking water to the city, while a dam to the right of the entrance diverted an adjoining stream through a tunnel to prevent it flooding the Siq. Once inside, the Siq narrows to little more than five metres in width, while the walls tower up hundreds of metres on either side. The floor, originally paved, is now largely covered with soft sand, although evidence of Nabataean construction can still be seen in some places. The Siq twists and turns, the high walls all but shutting out the early morning sunlight, until abruptly, through a cleft in the rock , the first glimpse of the city of Petra can be seen. Carved out of pale reddish sandstone, ornate pillars supporting a portico surmounted by a central urn and two flanking blocks, jut out from the cliff face ahead. .jpg "jordanpetra13_(Small).jpg") Petra Treasury The best-known of the monuments at Petra, the Khazneh is also the first to greet the visitor arriving via the Siq. The facade, carved out from the sandstone cliff wall, is 40m high, and is remarkably well-preserved, probably because the confined space in which it was built has protected it somewhat from the effects of erosion. The name Khazneh, which means 'treasury' comes from the legend that it was used as a hiding place for treasure. In practice, it seems to have been something between a temple and a tomb, possibly both at once. Behind the impressive facade, a large square room has been carved out of the rock of the cliff. The corners and walls have been squared off meticulously, but no attempt has been made to extend the excavations further or to reproduce the kind of ornate carving of the exterior. This is typical of the tombs in Petra; the interiors are as plain as the exteriors are intricate. From inside, you can look out through the doorway towards the Siq. The Khazneh faces onto a large open space, floored with soft sand and surrounded by high walls. It is possible, without too much difficulty, to scramble up to a point on the facing wall about fifty metres or so above the ground, and look down on the facade from above . Surrounding the open space dominated by the Khazneh are other tombs and halls mostly little more than man-made caves carved out from the rock. To the right, the path continues between more widely-spaced rock walls studded with smaller tombs, which are visible as black holes in the rock. A little further on, on the left is the giant semicircle of the amphitheatre, which had seats for eight thousand people. Behind it, the rock wall is pitted with tombs. Close to the theatre, a flight of steps marks the start of the climb towards the High Place of Sacrifice, while continuing towards the right, the wadi widens out. Ahead lies the centre of the city, while following the cliff face further to the right takes you to the Royal Tombs. _(Small).jpg "jordanpetra3_resized(1)_(Small).jpg") .jpg "jordanpetra11_(Small).jpg") Central Petra The heart of Petra lies about the open ground of the Wadi Musa. A broad track from the Khazneh leads to the main street of Roman Petra, which is paved with cut stone and lined with columns. Towards the amphitheatre is an open marketplace and a nymphaeum or public fountain. At the opposite end is the Temenos Gateway, which marked the entrance to the courtyard of the Temple of Dushara. .jpg "jordanjarash_(Small).jpg") The Temple Popularly known as the Qasr al-Bint Firaun ("The Castle of Pharaoh's Daughter"), was a large free-standing structure, built of massive blocks of yellow sandstone. It has been extensively restored. Dushara was the principal god of the Nabataeans; his partner, the fertility goddess Atagartis, was worshipped at the Temple of the Winged Lions, which faces the Temple of Dushara from a low rise to the north-east of the Temenos gateway. In Roman times, these temples would have been taken over for the worship of the appropriate Roman gods, possibly Apollo and Artemis respectively. In the city's Byzantine period, it is likely that they were also adapted for Christian worship. Behind the Qasr rises a tall plug of rock, Al-Habis, with Nabataean steps leading to the summit, on which are the remains of a small fort built by the Crusaders. To the north-west a pathway leads off towards El-Deir while to the north is open, sandy ground, covered by dry scrub and the remains of Byzantine walls and other ruins. The eastern side of this area is bounded by the King's Wall, a rock escarpment faced with three imposing tombs. .jpg "silktomb_resized_(Small).jpg") .jpg "jordanpetra15_(Small).jpg") Images courtesy of Jordan Tourism Board and fotoseeker.com
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