Back to Petra and Through the Jordan Rift Valley

Before heading back North to Amman, we decided to return to Petra for one last crusade early in the morning to beat the crowds. This we did, entering the park shortly before 6:00 am Wednesday morning with the aim of visiting some of the northern sites that we had missed the previous day.

Our early departure proved fruitful, for we found the Siq to be deserted as we enjoyed a tranquil perambulation down its undulating way. The Treasury valley was nearly as empty, with a couple of tourists and vendors wandering around in the still morning air. Once again our course took us to the right, but rather than branching south to venture up to the Place of High Sacrifice as we had previously done we continued west, passing the amphitheater on our left and the heading towards the row of cliff side tombs to the north.

These four tombs are known collectively as the Royal Tombs, and are believed to have been built for various Nabataean kings, although there is some dispute over which king occupied each tomb. The interior chambers vary in size according to the width of the exterior facade, but none reach too deeply into the mountainside. We found these rooms to be fairly plain, mostly with flat walls and some niches.

Next we ventured further west, taking a modern and rough looking bridge over a deep, dried up river bed to see several more ruins in the hills north of the main path leading to the Monastery. These included the so called Temple of the Winged Lions, named for the beasts that once adorned its now shattered capitals, the finely mosaicked Byzantine Church, built during the Fifth Century over the remains of a Roman structure, and the Blue and Red chapels, named for the color of the columns of the former and the walls of the latter.

Nearly satisfied by these crumbling edifices, we decided to take one more hike up into the mountains to get a good view of the Treasury before leaving the park. Once again trudging up winding stairs cut into the mountainside, we pondered the passions of the ancient race that had prompted them to carve their way ever higher into the firmament away from the level and comfortable ground.

These ruminations did not hinder our appreciation of the Treasury, whose stately facade presently appeared before us after some climbing up and down into the hills beyond the mountainous cliffs containing the Royal Tombs. Tired after our climb (and lack of breakfast) we paused here some time before venturing down again and returning to our hotel for our drive north to Amman.

This we begun after stopping at the ruins of Shobak Castle, a picturesque albeit crumbling Crusader fortress situated on the outskirts of the city of Shaubak 10 miles north of Wadi Musa. With enough of the walls still intact to render its appearance imposing, we found this ruin to be refreshingly isolated from the bustle of any surrounding city, with only rolling hills and distant mountains visible from its ramparts. 

Our visit to this site being brief, we soon were once more traveling north. Rather than retracing our steps on the flat Desert Highway traveled earlier, we wound our way along the scenic King's Highway which runs through the center of the country along the Jordan Rift Valley (the Desert Highway is 10 miles to the east). The spectacular changes in elevation and the frequent small and bustling cities sprinkled along the way made for slow going, and it was not until after dark that we reached the airport to take a shared taxi to our Airbnb in Amman. 

-Theodore

Alone in the Siq

The Treasury in the early morning stillness

Making our way through the Outer Siq, the empty and untended vendor stands a refreshing sight

A donkey and her calf wandering through the empty paths

Tut 1 and Mummy in front of the Amphitheater

The early morning sun creeping into the valley

The Corinthian Tomb, which resembles the Treasury in design but is more heavily eroded

The interior of the Urn Tomb, which was later converted into a church. The apses were added during this conversion.  

Tut 1 and Mummy in front of the Palace Tomb, which is supposedly modeled after the Golden House of Nero.

Tut 1 in the Byzantine Church. The modern covering was added to protect the fine mosaics on the floor.

An example of the floor mosaics in the Byzantine Church

Camels taking it easy in the hills of Petra

Climbing into the mountains

Mummy with a Petra cat

 The whole crew with the Treasury in the background

The ruins of Shobak Castle

Tut 2 in front of gothic arches in the castle

Shobak castle commands a formidable position in the hills bordering the Rift Valley

Wind-blown trees and windmills by the King's Highway

A butcher's shop in one of the small towns along the King's Highway. We failed to get a picture of a similar shop featuring a whole camel hanging for display, skinned but for its neck and head.

Going through the Jordan Rift Valley

Amman by night