Today was the day that we finally get to see the facade of Petra, the building that lent its image to the stunning visuals of the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”.
I was up far too late last night catching up on my blogging, so when the 6:30 AM wake up call arrived at 6 AM, it was a bit annoying. But hey I went back to sleep easily enough, then tried to catch up by rushing – always a good plan, or maybe not…
I managed to get enough together that we could make breakfast then the bus, but I’d have to brush my teeth down at the restaurant. No problem, except, as I found out much later, I apparently left my toothbrush & toothpaste behind. So now I need a toothbrush, oh well. Foolish moves.
First stop was Petra itself – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra . What a long walk! About 2 km from the vistor’s centre to the entrance to the city, then another say 2 km in the Siq (narrow jagged entry passage between the walls of rock). It then opens up to show the Treasury, the facade that the Indiana Jones movie (among others) made famous. Very impressive, very amazing!
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| Not sure what the motion picture industry thinks of the use of their trademark, but this shop sells all kinds of stuff, including hats that look nothing like Indiana Jones hats |
| The Treasury |
| We stand about 100 feet up in the entrance to a tomb up high on the rock face, a picture overlooking the north end of the ancient Petra City |
| Rev. George Davidson and Sandra Madder share a carriage from the visitor centre to Petra |
| Petra water distribution along side of passageway – lined with clay and topped by cap stones. They would just make a hole into the water passage, and water would seem to mysteriously come out of the rock! |
| Another view of the water distribution channel, showing a piece of the clay lining |
| Feature at the entrance to Little Petra. Is it a tax collection booth? |
| One of many cisterns in the rock at Little Petra |
| A feature cut in the rock at Little Petra, purpose unknown (at least to me!) |