Petra Part II


For our second day in Petra, we planned an early start to try and beat some of the crowds. We did not, however, anticipate just how much the blistering sun and strenuous climbing of the previous day had depleted our reserves. We wanted to be at the gate at six AM when they opened, but found ourselves waking after six and deciding to wait until 6:30 when the hotel began serving breakfast. We were at the site by seven AM, and we were still well ahead of the masses. Our plan was to do the climb up to The High Place of Sacrifice, and to come down on the opposite side where there are several interesting structures to be found in one of the upper canyons.


As I mentioned, arriving early may yield the uncluttered photo, but the light can be somewhat problematic. Still it is a quiet and peaceful time to enjoy this phenomenal setting.

With only a handful of locals, the early morning feel is one of otherworldly beauty. The photos above and below, conspicuously void of the polyester swarm, are many of the same places we saw yesterday, yet they take on a whole new dynamic in the morning's calm.



We learned that although the High Place of Sacrifice was at roughly the same elevation as the Monastery that we visited yesterday, the ascent was covered in a shorter distance making it much steeper. We elected to hire horses for the trip, justifying it of course by telling ourselves that by spending the few dollars we were contributing to the local economy. Although we agreed on a price for going up and back down we ended up paying the man off at the top and walking down the backside of the mountain.





The High Place has little of interest in itself other than a simple sacrificial altar, but the views, both from the top and on the way up and down, are breathtaking. The morning calm even seemed to permeate the locals whose normally friendly and playful demeanor was even more laid back.



This tiny sacrificial altar and the small viewing plaza is all that adorns this mountain top, but Karen quickly made friends with this young Bedouin girl. She had a tiny carpet shelter where she sold bottles of water, and explained to us that she was from Umm Sayhoun, the resettlement village that we talked about earlier. She told her entire story in the third person singular feminine, a style that was immediately endearing. When Karen remarked about her dimple she didn't immediately understand, but then explained that it was where her mother had kissed her when she was still in the womb.


On the way down, the first point of interest is The Lion Fountain at left. The Lion, carved in relief is nearly fifteen feet long. It requires some imagination, but the distinct channel carved at the top right once fed the Lion's now missing head. There is actually a cistern carved above and behind to catch water runoff and they were able to control the release which emitted from the Lion's mouth. Sometimes though it is simply the rock itself that steals the show.

A bit further down the canyon you come to the Garden Tomb (above). This tomb, and the Soldier's Tomb (below) a few feet down and to the left side of the canyon are still more than four hundred meters above the valley floor.



The Soldier's Tomb is so named because of the center frieze (left) which depicts a man in distinctly Roman soldier garb believed to be buried here. As you face the tomb the photo at right depicts The Garden Triclinium that would be at your back. There are several of these ceremonial dining places scattered around Petra, the purpose of which are somewhat unclear.  Picnic groves for Nabateans?

When we finally reached the valley floor we stopped to by a drink, where we encountered this shy young postcard salesman. Although we have a fair number of photos of Petra (a couple hundred more than you have had to sit through), Karen still felt the need to buy his photo postcards. He seemed particularly excited about the extra 25 cents that Karen gave him. We got the feeling that he didn't see any of the proceeds of his postcard sales. We could certainly continue, and I have omitted the free standing buildings and the colonnaded street.
Although very impressive, they are not unlike the structures at Jerash. Besides, it would be all to easy to overload the reader and the best advice we could give is see for yourself!