Lonely Planet Jordan: Petra

Includes FREE planning and background information. It is early morning. The path winds down towards the Siq, the dramatic rift in the land that leads towards the hidden city of Petra. The only sounds are the ringing of hooves on cobblestones as horse carts pass into the narrow gorge. The corridor of narrowing stone squeezes out the sky and the sun casts long shadows across the sacred way. At length, the path slithers into the sunlight and there, bathed in all the glory of first light, stands the Treasury, a beacon of hope to the ancients and a promise of ‘wonderful things’ for the modern visitor. The sublime experience of emerging from the Siq is a hard act to follow, although Petra has other spectacles waiting in the wings, not least the Theatre and the Royal Tombs.

Includes FREE planning and background information. It is early morning. The path winds down towards the Siq, the dramatic rift in the land that leads towards the hidden city of Petra. The only sounds are the ringing of hooves on cobblestones as horse carts pass into the narrow gorge. The corridor of narrowing stone squeezes out the sky and the sun casts long shadows across the sacred way. At length, the path slithers into the sunlight and there, bathed in all the glory of first light, stands the Treasury, a beacon of hope to the ancients and a promise of ‘wonderful things’ for the modern visitor. The sublime experience of emerging from the Siq is a hard act to follow, although Petra has other spectacles waiting in the wings, not least the Theatre and the Royal Tombs.