Petra- Take 2

Just part of the mammoth city.

So, made it back to Jordan to see Petra again and this time the weather was perfect. So I spent two days hiking around there. Let me say this: Petra more than lives up to its reputation. Petra is HUGE. People have spent half ther life here assisting in the restoration of known sites- and more tombs and structures lie under the ground awaiting discovery. There is so many different places to explore that it makes the legs quiver just thinking about it. Its beautiful hiking too and not too hot when I was there- as it will be in less than a month.

Quick facts(kind of facts, anyway) about Petra:
-It is an ancient city of stone. Buildings are actually carved into the sandstone of the mountains!
-It was mostly built from 100BC to 100AD but the Romans did quite a bit in the 3rd-4th Centuries(please don't quote me on that)
-Moses and his sister were known to hang here. In fact, her tomb is supposedly there somewhere.
-Although the facades of the buildings are spectacular, the actual space in them are small and disappointing
-Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade featured Petra in some of its footage

At any rate, its an incredible place. In my opinion, it should be among the Seven Man-Made Wonders of the World. Hopefully my pictures can capture its beauty and immensity.

From far away it almost seems like a two-dimensional carving....

....but as you get closer you can see the many layers.

...and layers and layers. There are caves everywhere around here that served as dwellings for most of the people. Sometimes they are still used by the desert-dwelling Bedouin.

It all starts by following a road through a gorge that gets pretty narrow- especially with the walls that sometimes go up 300 feet.

Then it opens up to the Treasury- the most well known of the buildings. Recognize it from the movie?

But the shining jewel must be the monastery of El Deir. Damn.