Confucius said, " A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Today began with a single step, but my fitbit pedometer now reads 14,777 steps. To see Petra is to walk and walk and walk and wonderful walking it is. It is a sight like no other. It takes the breath away with its beauty and fascination. The ancient siq the main entrance to Petra is an impressive 3960 feet long with deep and narrow gorges of stunning beauty. It is hemmed in by cliffs soaring up almost 300 feet. There are bizarre looking geological formations, colorful rocks, terraces, water channels and frequent carvings.
Just when you think you have seen all the dazzling sights possible, you emerge from the siq face to face with the Treasury. It is the pride and joy of Petra. It was carved in the 1st century BCE by Nabateans to be used as a tomb for a king. It is breathtaking. Carved as it is out of sandstone it represents Nabatean architectural genius.
There is a theater to be seen and royal tombs, palaces and colonnaded streets. Words cannot do justice
to the magnificence that is Petra. It is unique in every respect. For Christians there is also the very real possibility that Petra is the place in the desert to which the Apostle Paul went after his conversion on the way to Damascus.
Dean Burgon's poem reflects some truth about Petra; "Match me such a marvel save in eastern clime/a rose-red city half as old as time..." According to many it is the eighth wonder of the ancient world.
Blessings,
Mary
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