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#WPLongform, Ad-Deir Monastery, Nabataeans, Petra, Petra Treasury, photography, the Siq, the Treasury, travel
6-7 October 2015. We’d been walking for about twenty minutes: from the town of Wadi Musa, through the entrance gates, and for about a kilometre in a wide valley along a broad gravel thoroughfare known as Bab as-Siq. Horses walked or cantered with pounding hooves on a track beside us as far as the entrance to the ravine known simply as the Siq.
Marking the entrance, carved into the sandstone cliffs, are the first of many monumental tombs left by the Nabataeans: the Obelisk Tomb, and below it Bab el-Siq Triclinium, a funerary dining hall where banquets were held in honour of a god or ancestor. The whole structure seems to be a sentinel, and a foreshadowing of what’s to come.
The Siq, meaning shaft, is a shadowy narrow chasm, a natural geographic fault, a deep crack in the land caused by an earthquake and later worn smooth by wind and water. It is a little over one kilometre (3/4 mi) long and in some places no more than two metres (6 ft) wide. The rock walls of this unassailable crevasse are up to 182 metres (600 ft) high.
We’ve waited a long time for this and finally we have arrived. We walk through the canyon, the rock walls reaching up on either side dwarfing us. It’s broad at times, allowing sunlight to enter the depths. Occasionally there is a tree, but mainly it is so narrow, and the rock walls so dominant and high that they seem to suck up all heat and light. We are in a dim deep cool silent place. Even though there are many people walking along, snapping pictures, staring, chatting, and we ourselves are part of a group of nineteen people, these rock walls still speak of power and permanence and majesty. They will not be denied.
We walk as a straggly group led by our guide. Suddenly he tells us to stop. He knows the exact spot. On his instructions we take one more step forward and there it is. Suddenly I feel as if I’m on the moon, and doves explode into flight in my heart. In front of me is the iconic view of the Treasury at Petra as first seen from the Siq. A sliver of something eternal and enigmatic, classical lines framed by the softly curving rock walls of the canyon. Not a photograph, the real thing there before me. It is a thrilling moment.
We continue walking. I wonder if we will ever get to the end. And then we are there, stepping out into a broad opening. The Treasury, Al Khazneh, standing before us with its clean Hellenistic lines is like an epiphany, and surely the most spectacular and astounding sight in all of Jordan. It is unsurprisingly Jordan’s most visited tourist attraction.
The Treasury, carved directly from the rock, was the tomb of King Aretas III, and displays the extraordinary engineering skills of the Nabataeans. There was a legend that bandits, or pirates, or an Egyptian Pharaoh fleeing the Israelites, hid their treasure in the urn above the central pediment, hence the colloquial name, but no treasure has ever been found despite local Bedouins over the centuries taking potshots at the urn in an attempt to dislodge it. The urn has been proven to be solid stone.
The Nabataeans were an industrious Arab people who settled in the area more than two and a half thousand years ago. Petra, their capital, was known to the Nabataeans as Raqmu. It was a natural fortress, and by figuring out how to control the water flowing through the wadi, often in the form of flash floods, they established an artificial oasis. In doing so they also established control of the main commercial routes that passed through the area. Petra became the centre of the Nabataean caravan trade. The Siq was the grand caravan entrance.
The Nabataeans flourished for about five hundred years until around 100 AD when they were absorbed into the Roman Empire. Petra continued as an important trading centre under the Romans.
Apparently the Romans never left:
From the Treasury we again enter a narrow opening in the rock walls that opens into a long, broad valley with red-orange cliffs rising up on either side.
We have entered a magical world of camels, donkeys and horses, and their Bedouin caretakers. If you wanted to you could travel around all of Petra on the back of one of these animals.
Or like us you could walk. We walk all day covering twenty kilometres (13 mi). Petra is vast.
We follow the valley past hundreds of elaborate tombs carved into the cliffs. The houses of the Nabataeans were destroyed by earthquakes, but the tombs were built to last for eternity. Five hundred have survived.
The entrance to one of the royal tombs:
There are obelisks, sacrificial altars, colonnaded streets, a theatre, and temples. I am awed by the sheer size, the geometric perfection, and the elegant classical lines.
There is an ageless rock-cut path of more than eight hundred steps, the processional route to The High Place of Sacrifice of this ancient civilization.
It leads high up in the hills where the views are glorious,
and where the Ad-Deir Monastery is hidden away. It is one of the great monuments of Petra, another grand Nabataean tomb, similar in design to the treasury but much bigger. It is 50 metres (164 ft) wide and 45 metres high (147 ft), built in perfection more than two thousand years ago.
At the end of the day after twenty kilometres I am exhausted and in pain. But I don’t care. I didn’t want to miss anything, and anyway what’s a bit of pain when the rewards are so great? I take some over-the-counter medication; better living through chemistry. The next morning we set out again. Our guide leads us on a hike through the backcountry high above the ancient city.
There’s nothing like a pathway; we are clambering over boulders; dropping a few feet to a lower elevation then climbing up again; more boulders; creeping along a narrow ledge with a sheer drop down one side, an overhang on the other, and a climb down and then up again at the end.
Through it all we follow our guide. And then on a high plateau he tells us to stop. Once again he knows the exact spot. We turn around and there it is. For the second time in two days I disintegrate with joy into a million sparkling fragments. I am dazzled. We are above the Treasury, looking down upon it.
We are also above the Roman theatre,
and the tombs of Petra.
Climbing down a thousand stone steps worn smooth and grooved by a million footsteps over hundreds of years
we run into Ross and Tanya. We’d had dinner with them at the mysterious menagerie in Amman a week ago. Of all the places we, or they, could be in Jordan, we reconnect on the stone steps of Petra. After chatting a while we join our group for a feast in a Bedouin restaurant back down in the valley,
and then straggle back to our hotel. The horse and carriage drivers do good business at the end of the day when many are too tired to walk the two kilometres (1.25mi) back to the town.
After dinner we go to a hammam, an experience both startling and wonderful – dripping from every pore in a hot steam room, then emerging to a cooler steamy room and suddenly I’m deluged in icy cold water, screaming with laughter, then lying on a marble slab with legs in the air while more cold water rains down on me, then being scrubbed all over, a massage in separate room, and finally a shower. I feel well-scrubbed, well-watered, and completely enervated in a good way.
After the exhaustion of two days of hiking all over, and the hammam experience, I am deliciously drained. Petra by Night is a tourist thing that gets mixed reviews. Candles light the length of the Siq, and there is tea and traditional music in front of the Treasury, also lit by candles. From online photographs it looks beautiful, but I can’t face walking another 4 kilometres there and back, there is only one other person in our group who expresses any interest in going, and our guide is not enthusiastic about it. We decide not to go.
UNESCO has described Petra as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage”. In 2007 it was included as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and it was chosen by Smithsonian Magazine as one of the “28 Places to See Before You Die”. All of these accolades are well deserved. Petra has its own special mysterious magic, and you can’t help but fall under its spell.
In 1845 John Burgon, an Anglican clergyman, won the Newdigate Prize for his poem Petra, a city which he had never seen.
It seems no work of Man’s creative hand,
by labour wrought as wavering fancy planned;
But from the rock as if by magic grown,
eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!
Not virgin-white like that old Doric shrine,
where erst Athena held her rites divine;
Not saintly-grey, like many a minster fane,
that crowns the hill and consecrates the plain;
But rose-red as if the blush of dawn,
that first beheld them were not yet withdrawn;
The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,
which Man deemed old two thousand years ago,
match me such marvel save in Eastern clime,
a rose-red city half as old as time.
Next post: Little Petra (yes there’s more from these extraordinary people), and the Bedouins of Jordan.
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2016.
Wait a minute here while I pick my…there it is…jaw up off the floor. These photos are wait…I dropped it again. I love the one with the dark foreground, light rock caves and tourists walking by, and then the dark background the most (the colors, the contrast, the composition, light), but all are just wonderful.
It looks like you lucked out with your guide. And it also looks like you went to all the same places I went to when I was there (so I don’t feel so completely incompetent). I loved getting to the site above the Treasury…that was cool, once you’re there! And I remember all those steps, and all that rock, and all that history. Who was that Roman-looking soldier? Part of your tour, or just an on-sight photo op thing?
And this line is killer: “I disintegrate with joy into a million sparkling fragments.”
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Well thank you so much BF. I’ve reworked the one of the first glimpse of the Treasury – it took me four goes to get it right, but worth it. It looks better now than when you first looked at this post. Do you mean the one I took from inside one of the tombs looking across to the row of tombs across the valley? That’s one of my faves too. I don’t know what you mean by the one with the dark background. Anyway it’s a supremely interesting and photographic place – so much to draw the eye.
We had a fabulous guide for Petra. Unfortunately he rushed us through Wadi Rum for no reason 😦
The Roman soldier was just there – two of them – on-site photo op so I photographed.
I read an amazing blog by Michael Mark https://embracingforever.com. The imagery in his poetry is off the charts. Hallucinogenic off the charts though I’m quite sure there are no hallucinogenics involved. I asked where it came from and he said it came from transforming feeling into images so I gave it a try hence doves exploding into flight in my heart and disintegrating with joy into a million sparkling fragments. Expect more where that came from 🙂
Alison
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Oh…yeah, now I see. It’s from inside a cave. It looked like a dark wall behind it rather than to roof of a cave!! Now I see. I read some of Michael Mark…pretty cool. Can’t wait for more doves exploding on the page!!
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Alison again you have inspired me with your beautiful post and wonderful photos and adventures. Again you have informed me of places I “knew” by image but never knew just how beautiful and how wondrous they are in their enormity. Silly I know but I had never thought of the Treasury being part of a whole city. You and Don look so healthy in the photo. Don’t know how many 28 places you have seen on the list but i hope you get to all of them.
I am a bit behind with reading your posts and look to catching up during the week
Thank you again for sharing your wondrous adventures. Louise
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Thank you so much Louise for your kind comments. I actually never realized the Treasury was part of a larger whole either. It was amazing to discover all the rest of Petra. And to see the enormity of the monuments.
The photo of me and Don was taken last October. We’re still pretty healthy but dealing with some structural issues (arrrgh the joys of aging!)
I’ve seen 18 of the 28. Some are things to do such as climb Mt Kilimanjaro which I know I’ll never do. Well never say never.
Alison
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Fantastic post!! Such amazing pictures…. I’ve seen such pictures on the Internet but I agree with you that when these wonderful things are in front of your eyes, it’s a sight to be absorbed and a memory to be cherished forever! Petra is definitely on my list of places to visit and you have only strengthened my will to make it there before long! And I think I’m pretty much like you… I’d much prefer walking than sitting on the back of one of those really tired and still working animals!
Thank you so much for sharing your memories with us… Looking forward to the next post 🙂 cheers
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Thanks Aishwarya. Oh seeing the real thing is a big part of what propels me to travel. There’s nothing quite like it.
The animals seemed generally well cared for, but yes, they’re working animals so not the same as running free.
I hope you make it to Petra!
Alison
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I love, love, LOVE this post! Every single word, every single picture. I was in awe throughout. You have sparked a burning desire to visit Jordan right NOW! 😀 Thank you so much for sharing with us all 🙂
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Thank you so much Diya, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I hope you get to Petra!
Alison
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I feel an honor partaking in this majestic landscaped adventure.
Thanks for taking me back from these modern walls
to those grand ancient ones, carved in stone 🙂
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Oh David, we are so honoured to have been able to be there. What a blessed life! I’m glad you journeyed a little with us back to these ancient times.
Alison
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Fabulous pics. Our second daughter is named Petra, after the city.
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Thanks Peggy. Sooo much there to photograph; it’s an amazing place. I love Petra as a name – a rose-red ageless wisdom. Does your daughter like it?
Alison
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She loves her name and it suits her completely.
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I’ve been looking forward to reading this post since you first started writing of your adventures in Jordan and, thank you, Alison, your lyrical descriptions exceeded my expectations! Loved this post and your pictures of the ageless, magnificent and immense “rose-red city half as old as time.” Thank you for taking me along on your adventure – one day I hope to see Petra for myself. Anita
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Thanks so much Anita. I’m pleased to hear it exceeded expectations! It really is magnificent, the whole place. I hope you get there one day!
Alison
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Perfectly summed up, Alison.
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Thanks so much Russ. What a fabulous couple of days we had!
Alison
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Pingback: The Ancient City of Petra – half as old as time — Adventures in Wonderland | mini ART tour
What a magical place. Thank You for the story and excellent photos!
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Thanks so Maciek, I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s a very magical place.
Alison
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A few years ago I watched a documentary about Petra’s history and magnificent architecture. It really was mind-boggling to learn how the Nabateans managed to build such awe-inspiring structures in the middle of nowhere. The technique they used to fulfill the residents’ need for water was also ingenious. And Alison, again, I’m very impressed with your photos. Not only do they look stunning, but they also do the ancient site justice.
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Thanks Bama. I do hope my photos do justice to such a magnificent place. I too was completely blown away by the Nabataeans and all they achieved. I didn’t go into detail in this post, but just what they did to control the water – from droughts to flash floods, building dams, and controlling the release and flow – is completely mind boggling. And their buildings of course speak for themselves – truly breathtaking.
Alison
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Dear Alison and Don,
Exceptionally wondrous pictures of Petra! Congratulations and thank you so much. Warm greetings, Wil
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Thank you so much Wil. I’m so glad you enjoyed them. What a wonderful two days we had!
Alison
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Beautiful blog! I love your descriptive writing…I really felt like I was there on the journey with you.
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Thank you Suzanne. Saying you felt like you were there is the best compliment! Thanks!
Alison
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Breathtaking place and amazing photos! A much desired destination in my bucket list… Excellent post ❤
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Thanks Pelly. It is an amazing place. I hope you get there one day!
Alison
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Beautiful pictures…. Living vicariously through you! Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Beth, and you’re welcome. We love having you along!
Alison
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Majestic!
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Yes it is! ❤
Alison
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Alison, like Badfish, I too am speechless. Reading this post and seeing your astounding photos is the next best thing to being there in person. The Treasury (and Petra as a whole) has captured my imagination for the longest time – I don’t know why I still haven’t gone to Jordan to see it. How did you manage to take a photo of that magical first glimpse from the Siq without any people?
I love all your shots of the colourful, smiling camels, especially those with Petra’s monuments in the background. And the colours, how they pop out from the screen! If Freshly Pressed hadn’t been retired I’m sure this fabulous post would be in the running.
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Thanks James for all your wonderful compliments. Freshly Pressed may have gone, but I did get “Discovered” last week which was a wonderful surprise.
I had a lot of fun photographing the camels – there’s something so exotic about them.
I cheated a little – I couldn’t get the shot I wanted if the first glimpse of the Treasury when it actually happened. I got the shot later in the day when the crowds had thinned. It was still just as magical.
Alison
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I have been to Israel many times and it’s been highly mulish to go specifically to Petra in Jordan and your post helped solidify that desire for me. Maybe it’s the name, so similar to mine, the fascinating history and the visuals of all that amazing ancient architecture. Thanks for an in depth visit via your “pen” and beautiful visuals.
Peta
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Thanks Peta. I of course highly recommend Petra. It really is one of the world’s great wonders. I hope you get there one day.
Alison
PS Part of this post actually was written with an old fashioned pen 🙂
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Amazing post Alison, thank you for sharing your adventures and the fantastic photos of the stunning Petra! I liked your comment about the Romans that never left.. probably this was the last one:) Hope you’re enjoying Canada these days!
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Thanks Christie, and you’re most welcome! It was a bit of a surprise seeing the two “Roman soldiers”. At the time I hadn’t really got it that Petra became a Roman city and flourished for quite a time under Roman rule.
We are very happy to be back in Canada. Summer is here, and Vancouver is all leafy green. We’re here for five months.
Alison
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Glad to hear Vancouver is all leafy green, hope to stay like this another couple of months, when I’ll have a chance to visit the city! All the best! Christie:)
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Contact me when you get here. Maybe we could meet for coffee.
A.
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I’d never appreciated the size of the monuments and the scope of it before your pictures! What a treasure.
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Oh Susan it’s the most amazing place! I certainly didn’t appreciate the size and scope before I went there either. It seemed to go on and on all over that rugged wild countryside. It is indeed a treasure.
Alison
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wonderful post, thank you for sharing your adventures!
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Thanks, and you’re most welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Alison
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Just amazing. Lovely commentary and pics as per usual. Thank you for this super piece of vicarious living!
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Thanks Keith, it’s a really amazing place. I’m glad I was able to convey something of that.
Alison
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Stunning images, and what lovely metaphors you have cultivated to express the moments of glory, Alison!
I love the way the temples are carved right into the landscape. There is something fundamentally different about that, than say, quarrying stone and reassembling it somewhere else. I like the way the work began with what was given somehow. There is something beautiful in that…
What a magnificent place!
Peace and Love
Michael
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Thank you Michael. Do you like my first attempts at expressing feelings as images? It was a very fun thing to do and I shall do more in future.
I too love places where the landscape becomes the building. It feels so very grounded. Other places we’ve been/seen where this is so, although completely different, are Cappadocia and the Lycian tombs of southwest Turkey.
Yes. A magnificent place.
Alison
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Stunning from start to finish! Your photos are marvelous — the horse cart is a favorite, among others. You and Don are radiating such joy in the photo above the Treasury. Wonderful to see your faces lit up with the discovery of travel.
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Thanks Kelly. I suppose I look at my photos too often (as I prepare them for a post) and with too critical an eye. I’m always somewhat surprised that they are so well received. So thank you. Every time it feels like a confirmation that I’m doing something right.
Above the Treasury? Oh yes, that was definitely a joyous moment! That was a moment of disintegrating with joy into a million sparkling pieces! 🙂
Alison
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Before I read your post Petra was a bucket list item.
Now it’s more of an imperative. The way you describe the experience, along with the photos truly shows it as a wonder of the world. Thank you.
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Thanks Dave, and you’re most welcome. It definitely is a wonder of the world. you must go! It surpassed all my expectations.
Alison
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What an amazing post, I have read it about four times and can’t get enough of you gorgeous photography and evocative descriptions. Petra has been on my list for ever and now even more so. Although I do worry…a little about all the troubles around that area. Do you reccomend the travel guide you had?
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Thanks Gilda. Reading four times! What a wonderful compliment. Makes me happy.
I hope you get to Petra. I think Jordan is as safe as anywhere in the world these days. It’s a neutral country in sea of troubles, but who would have thought Paris, or Brussels would be unsafe? We did a one week tour with Exodus, and rightly or not, it feels safer with a tour. We chose Exodus because they allow two days in Petra which you really need to see it all. Our guide was a fabulous guide for Petra. Just the best! And then for no reason he rushed us through Wadi Rum (warning rant coming about that in a future post). Overall I’d recommend Exodus but be sure time is allowed to just *be* in Wadi Rum in that extraordinary landscape. We spent a morning hanging out in Petra – after two full days there – for no reason other than our guide didn’t want to get us to Wadi Rum because “there’s nothing to do there”.
Alison
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Thanks for sharing, Alison and Don, Petra was completely off my travel radar and I see a certain miss now (as well as some other places on the smithsonian’s list). The photos are breathtaking. If you don’t mind me asking, what did you do before you set off to this adventure in terms of work?
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Thanks Natasha. Petra is an amazing place and definitely worth visiting. Before we retired Don was a Dr of Neuropsychology specializing in assessment of head and brain injuries for legal cases. I have been an artist/creative person all my life – crafts and painting mainly. I came to photography later. For work I did whatever I could find and once counted that I’d had over 100 different types of jobs. My ‘career’ was spiritual seeking/inner healing/finding the Truth. Don also had this ‘career’ as well as his more conventional career.
Alison
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Thank you for sharing, Alison. I am interested in people’s stories, their life transitions, their search for happiness and your blog offers such a wonderful inspiration for all that! (I also see where all the great photos are coming from now :)) It would be great if you decide to share your story on the blog one day.
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Our story is on the blog – in bits and pieces. We record the inner journey as we go. You’ll see all the posts here:
https://alisonanddon.com/this-nomadic-life-the-inner-journey/
Perhaps start here:
https://alisonanddon.com/2015/08/14/do-you-want-a-home-or-do-you-want-a-life/
and with the interview we did with Nomadic Matt:
http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/don-alison-success-story/
Thanks so much for your interest Natasha.
Alison
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My perspective on this evening shifts as I read this :)) thanks Alison!!
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You’re welcome. Hope you enjoy the story.
A.
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Another superb post and the photos take in all the detail, I feel as though I have actually been there as you give us that first tantalising glimpse framed by the rock then to burst out into the sight of that incredible monument. It must’ve taken a lot of patience to wait for the moment when no tourists were in the frame and only the 3 camels making it feel as though you had gone back in time. As they say \, some experiences are priceless. and this is one of them.
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Thanks pommepal. I am always pleased when anyone feels as if they were there. Petra is a really special place. I admit I cheated a bit with the photos. I couldn’t get the shot I wanted when we first arrived, but much later near the end of the day when most people had left I was able to get it. The whole of Petra was definitely a priceless experience.
Alison
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Creeping along narrow ledges – YIKES. Climbing down 1000 steps – YIKES. And it must have very hot as well?
Glad to be an armchair traveler while you and Don do the work of it.
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I don’t remember if it was hot or not, though I notice I’m wearing a cotton sweater in the photo so it can’t have been that hot. I love this king of hiking, I find it really exhilarating. I’m glad you enjoy joining us from your comfy armchair.
Alison
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The photos are amazing! Really think about going there…)))
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Thank you so much. Do go – it’s amazing!
Alison
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Thank you as always for bringing us along with you. You have reconfirmed that we must visit. Loved the photos and especially the one of you and Don looking down on the Treasury.
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Thanks Tim and Anne. Glad to have you along. Yes, you must visit, it’s incredible!
Alison
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I felt the “mysterious magic” of the ancients. Good work, Alison! Don is very dashing in his hiking hat.
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Thanks Pam. Isn’t it amazing?! That hat is about to be retired, but he has one very similar and even classier.
Alison
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So happy to finally hear your thoughts and see your photos from Petra. Were you surprised at its vastness? I was. I remember feeling amazed at how far and long we walked to see it all, and how the canyons and cliffs and rocks and – of course! – the carvings changed in the light and with our own elevation. My heart stopped and jumped also at my first glimpse of the Treasury; it’s just one of those places that almost defy credulity and seeing it in person was a dream come true.
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Oh yes, I was very surprised by its vastness. I had no idea. I think I’ll remember the first glimpse of the Treasury for as long as I live. Or maybe even for half as long as time 🙂
What an amazing experience it all was.
Alison
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OMG! I have heard many wonderful things about Petra but your pictures portray it the best! I love camels and your pictures are fabulous, especially the one of the single camel. The look on his face is priceless. You must be having fun reliving this adventure by blogging about it.
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Thanks Darlene, what a wonderful compliment. I love camels too. They’re so comical. It’s a lot of fun reliving the time in Jordan, some of it better than when we were there 🙂
but not Petra. Petra was one of the best experiences ever.
Alison
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I can tell!
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I am with Badfish in picking up jaws off the floor. Prior to reading his comment I was going to say that every once in a while a post comes along that makes my heart soar. Not just intrigue me but take me to a spot I so yearn to go I can almost believe I was there. Thanks you sincerely. I don’t feel that way too often but through your eloquent writing and stunning photos fo tonight I believe I have seen Petra.
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Thanks so much Sue. Oh what a huge compliment. It is what I strive for – to give readers a feeling of being there. Petra is so stunning, and we had such a good experience there, that it was easy for me to be excited about putting this post together.
Alison
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I could feel your excitement. I think that passion really came through in your writing. Really well done Alison!
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Another amazing post, it wants me to start travel again
Love, Health, and Wealth
Alex Moses
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Thank you Alex. I’m just like that – I see pictures and read tales of some place I haven’t been to and wham I want to start travelling again. The bucket list just grows and grows.
So much fun.
Wishing you love, health, and wealth too.
Alison
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Thank you Alison, if you wish to write a guest post on my blog I would be honored
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I’d love to. Do you have a topic in mind?
A.
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anything positive and uplifting will do 🙂
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Okay. I can do that!
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Great pictures! I plan to go there on my year off.
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Thanks travellingswan. Hope you get there, it’s really worth it.
Alison
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Love your blog. I envy your adventures! What a wonderful life to lead. Thank you for your fantastic writing and beautiful photographs 😊
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Thanks mum of one, I’m glad you like it. We are very lucky to have this life; it still feels miraculous.
Alison
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I’m astounded at the immensity of the surrounds, Alison. It’s a place I’ve seen again and again so that it looks totally familiar, but yes… goosebumps at ‘that’ view. 🙂 And awe when you’re on high, looking down. Truly, a great post. 🙂
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Thanks so much Jo. Petra is *huge*. I had no idea. Well I guess I did reading about all the different places to see, but it didn’t really sink in until I was there. It’s so common to see the Treasury but there’s so much more to it. Both those iconic views of the Treasury – really amazing.
Alison
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I like this place very much…
…hopefully I will manage to travel there one day.
Thanks for sharing your pictures.
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It’s a very special place. I hope you get there one day!
Alison
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Stunning work and beautiful perspectives…love all of them and the camel eyes so sweet….❤️
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Thanks so much Hedy. It’s such an amazing place. It definitely was everything we could have hoped for. The camels were an added unexpected bonus!
Alison
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Can i just say “Wow!” and leave it at that… simply marvellous!
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Thanks Carissa. Petra is definitely a wow kind of place.
Alison
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I read this last week in the Galapagos, but I couldn’t get the pictures to load on our slow internet connection. I am so glad I waited to read it again with pictures! How absolutely stunning; I am hard pressed to pick a favorite out of this batch, and can only imagine how many pictures didn’t make the final cut!
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Thanks Felicity. Hard to get a bad picture of such an amazing place, and yes, hundreds didn’t make the cut. Petra is definitely one of the highlights of all our travels. But wait! . . . . . you were in Galapagos! Isn’t it just incredible? Another highlight for us. How long were you there for?
Alison
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I was in the Galapagos! For 12 days, in fact. A friend of mine just launched her own nomadic lifestyle in February and has been living in Ecuador. She found an inexpensive month-long rental in Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz, and invited me to come visit. How could I say no?
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Really! Saying no was not an option!
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I have just re-read your Galapagos posts. Feels much more real now that I’ve been there! I think the cruise will be the way to go next time; we did a few day trips and many things around Puerto Ayora, but a big part of the Galapagos experience is to see the differences in fauna from island to island. A good reason to go back, I’d say!
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wow! Amazing photo, all the photo you captured that is beauty of this place. this place is awesome and have so much beauty to visit. we can visit here during vacation.
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Thank you so much. It’s a truly amazing place. I hope you get to visit on your vacation.
Alison
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Your photos are incredible! Looking forward to continuing to follow your adventures.
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Thanks so much Melissa. And thanks for the follow. I hope you enjoy the stories of our travels.
Alison
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What can I say, just wow. I am having a grand time viewing your photos and reading your posts. And I am supposed to prepare breakfast 🙂
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Thanks so much Arlene. I had a lot of fun putting together the post about Petra. It’s such an amazing place. Really special. Hope you eventually got breakfast happening 🙂
Alison
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Petra is my favorite ancient wonder because you get to basically hike in Utah among ruins older than Jesus. The size of the treasury is incredible – it must be seen to appreciate. Like you, we walked tons of miles there and really needed and drink afterwards, but couldn’t find beer anywhere!
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I love Petra. I think it’s my favourite ancient wonder too, though there a few I haven’t seen yet (e.g. the Great Wall). I’m lucky that I don’t like beer 🙂
Alison
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