Petra

Today we visited Petra. Originally built and populated by the Nabataeans, a group of nomadic Arabs, it was eventually conquered and populated by Rome in the 2nd century A.D. Before arriving to Petra I had assumed that the weather would be much warmer and that the structures would be out in the open, surrounded by sand dunes. I was very wrong!

The main city area, which includes the treasury, was reached only after a substantial, beautiful walk through deep crevasses with towering walls on either side made up of a rich red and taupe colored rock. On either side of the main walkway you could see carved out waterways which would stream with water as its earlier inhabitants would make their way toward the main city center. While rounding the last turn through the cavernous walkway we could begin to see what is referred to as the treasury which is carved out of the side of the rock. Surrounding the treasury were smaller caves used as living areas or tombs.

The city sprawled up, around and on top of all the rock and its caverns. We wanted to explore more, but we had to catch our ride out of Petra which was a whole other experience in itself - Mules! We mounted our cross-bread companions and made our way out of Petra while taking in more of the surrounding wonder carved out of the rich red stone. I would certainly pay to experience Petra again.

As beautiful as Petra was, it was a different site watching one of our smaller mule guides struggle to support my dad (Dr. Reverend Doug Posey) as he attempted to dismount the mule which was partially dragging him at that point. I would also pay to see this again!