The Ancient Desert City of Petra in Jordan

The 'jewel of Jordan' has to be Petra - situated some 200km from Amman, it was described by the 19th century English poet, John Burgon as ' a rose-red city half as old as time' While not as old as that it is still very old - over 2000 years old! 

This magnificent site lies hidden amongst the multi-coloured sandstone mountains of southern Jordan. The glorious facades and buildings were carved out of the sandstone more than 2000 years ago by a group of people known as the Nabateans. 

The origins of the Nabateans are not clear but scholars agree that linguistically they were Arabs. Their place of origin is variously suggested to be modern Yemen, the coast opposite Bahrain and even Mesopotamia. This last suggestion comes because in the annals of 2 Assyrian kings is a reference to an unruly tribe called the 'Nabatu'. But whatever their origins they did in time settle in north western Arabia in what is today called Jordan. 

The first secure reference to them in the ancient literature comes from the 1stC historian Diodorus Siculus [Diodorus of Sicily] - his source was the writings of one of Alexander's officers, Hieronymus Cardia, writing some 300 years earlier. 

The Nabateans were originally nomads living off their camels and sheep and the rain water that they stored in huge underground cisterns; the openings of which were made very small and level with the ground and so carefully hidden that no one but themselves knew they were there. 

We know from Diodorus that by the 4th C BCE they had gained a foothold in Petra which was in the ancient Edomite kingdom. It's also known that by c.312BCE that the Nabateans were the dominant group in Edom and in time they abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and established themselves in the region of Petra which became the capital of the small Nabatean kingdom. There can be few peoples in the world that made so drastic a lifestyle change - from nomads to a settled trading life in a relatively short space of time. 

The people of Petra supported themselves with agriculture and the raising of camels and sheep - they grew vines and olive trees on specially built terraces, the remains of which can still be seen in what is now desert. But their eventual great wealth came as a result of the caravan trade. 

Petra was a 'half way house' for caravans on their way to and from the trading cities and ports of Syria and beyond. They took advantage of the caravans' need to replenish their water supplies in the hostile desert; water had to be paid for and not only that but caravan owners were liable to pay tax on the goods they carried. 

The Nabateans were extremely good at managing the available water supply as we've seen and here at Petra, as elsewhere, it was stored in large rock cut cisterns inside the gorge or 'siq', the remains of these and the water channels can still be seen as you walk down the 'siq.' 

Arriving at Petra one either walks or rides on horse or camel down the 1km long winding 'siq' - I preferred to walk but apart from that preference my conscience would not allow me to add to the misery of these wretched animals. 

It's cool here in the 'siq', the towering cliffs allow no hint of sun to intrude, but there are many things to look at or look out for. My guide pointed out the remains of cisterns and water channels, niches carved with the figures of their gods and even a relatively newly discovered wall carving depicting two pairs of camels and cameleers - a reminder that the wealth of these people came largely from the humble camel. You become so engrossed in looking at the carvings and channels and other evidence of the Nabatean presence here, that it comes as a shock when, rounding the last gentle curve of the 'siq' you see in the narrow gap ahead of you what one books calls, 'the glowing perfection of the treasury.' Emerging from the gloomy gorge, it seems to glow in the sun - and this magical effect remains as you walk across the natural square towards the structure. 

Although there are other structures here, I will only discuss this building at any length. Looking up to the facade you can see that it's elaborately carved with floral motifs and figures of Greek and Nabatean mythological figures; you can see the twin gods Castor and Pollux, there are Amazons with axes, winged Victories, Medusa heads and eagles. All of these are funerary symbols and over them all presides the figure of the Nabatean goddess 'al Uzza' - at her feet the emblem of Isis the Egyptian goddess and wife of Osiris ruler of the Underworld. 

The capitals of the treasury are closely related to the Alexandrian Greek style of architecture [themselves adapted from the classical Corinthian capitals] and it's suggested that Alexandrian Greek builders and sculptors were brought here to carve the designs and to train local sculptors. However the Nabatean elements in the facade show that it is not just a slavish copy of Hellenistic originals. 

About the name 'Treasury' [its Arabic name is 'Khaznet Fara'on' meaning Pharaohs' Treasury] - this was not a treasury - the idea derived from an ancient folk tale which had it that the urn at the top of the facade was full of gold coins; in the 19th century local Bedouins would shoot at the base of the urn in the hope that the 'treasure' would come tumbling down at their feet. 

Although the exact function of the Treasury is unknown the many funerary symbols point to it being a very lavish tomb or perhaps a cenotaph for one of the Nabatean kings. In fact I recall reading in an archaeological magazine a few years ago that burials were found in the ground immediately in front of the treasury. 

Before leaving here have a look at the holes cut into the rock on each side of the facade - it was told to me that the facade was built from the top downwards and the holes were to receive the wooden 'dowels' that supported the scaffolding - here I write under correction. 

Leaving the treasury behind and as you walk further into the site you can't help but marvel at the astonishing colours in the sandstone - pink, cream and grey, white, beige - it seems impossible that rocks can be these colours. With so many tomb facades here it easy to think of Petra as being a big cemetery but this isn't correct - it was also a place for the living; like the tombs, some houses were cut from the rock although some have been found which were built of limestone blocks instead. 

One place I remember specially, on the right as you walk away from the treasury, it was just a small chamber and it had what looked very like a small 'stoep' with 2 lovely pink/cream/beige pillars. 

Another of the great monuments lies high above Petra in the mountains - it was originally a great hall for memorial banquets - an inscription carved into a nearby rock may indicate the name of the man who was honoured here -'Ubaydu, son of Waqihel' - so I was informed by my guide and here again I write under correction. 

Its facade is modelled on the treasury but without all the elaborate carvings. Its modern name is 'ad-Deir', meaning 'the monastery' - the name comes from its later use as a Christian church. 

An oddity here at Petra is the Roman theatre - for what strange reason was a theatre carved here in the middle of a necropolis? Although it's said to have been carved out by the Nabateans I wondered if it was carved in Roman times instead; either by order of the Romans or carved out by the Romans themselves. It's the smallest of all Roman theatres that I've ever seen. 

Excavations since 1974 have uncovered such delights as a temple devoted to al-Uzza/Isis - some unusual carvings of lions have led to it being named the Temple of the Winged Lions'; another find was a huge marble hand inside another temple, which was probably part of a cult statue that, judging by the size of the hand, must have been 6m tall - it's not clear who the god was who was worshipped here. Other finds have included quantities of pottery, some of it very fine with thin translucent walls often painted with flowers and leaves. These I've not seen myself but I've read about them in the relevant books and magazines. 

The end of the Nabateans independence came on the death of the last king, 'Rabbel'; Nabatea and with it Petra, were annexed by the Roman Legate of Syria in the name of the emperor Trajan and it became part of the Roman province of Arabia - thus making the Nabateans Roman subjects. 

They continued to live here and it seems they pursued their lives more or less unchanged for some centuries. However eventually the caravans, who had provided much of Nabataea's wealth, no longer called at Petra, preferring to use a new northern route; the Nabateans finally abandoned Petra during the 4th C CE. 

The site was unknown to the West until Johan Burkhardt 'discovered' the ruins in 1812, although of course the local Bedouin had always been quite familiar with the place. 

I have deliberately not mentioned the vendors that one encounters even here, the ubiquitous sellers of all kinds of souvenirs, jewellery and bottles of coloured patterned sand. 

Visiting Petra is an amazing experience - I couldn't help but imagine and be in awe of, the effort it must have taken to create, and especially maintain this extraordinary city in the midst of a barren desert, testimony once again to the ingenuity, creativity and inventiveness of ancient man.

JEAN SMITH March 2011

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