Petra - The Ancient City Of Mysteries

Petra is a city in Jordan – well, technically it’s a city in Jordan but for those who don’t know, it’s not your traditional city! This city dates back over 2000 years and is comprised entirely of stone carvings. This incredible may be recognizable from Indiana Jones, Queen of the Desert, The Mummy Returns, Transformers 2, and several other movies! More importantly however, it is now known as one of the 7 new wonders of the world.

Ancient city of Petra in all of its glory

This place holds a plethora of historical significance beyond belief. Roaming around this city is like going on a walk through a movie set, except it has actually served a purpose for several millenia, and it is hard to believe how this was done! With the use of carbon dating and erosive identification, it has been possible to estimate when some of the structures were built, with the oldest dating back to before 200BC – ie. over 2200 years ago!

the Treasury of Petra

These structures are all carved out of the rose-red sandstone rock, and if that’s not already blowing you away, then consider the insane level of precision with which it has been done! The details are immaculate! Also, these structures were carved from the top down to ensure that the structural integrity would remain intact while chipping away. Doing so from the bottom upward, could result in the large amounts of breakage and tear in the building throughout the construction period. The way the locals did this at the time, was by chizeling steps or a form of ladder into the rock, climbing up to 45m up, and then working their way down with perfect precision!

The Monastery

I highly recommind visiting this incredible historical site as seeing this for myself was one of the most incredible experiences I have ever been lucky enough to have! 3 times a week (typically) there is also an event/show, called “Petra By Night” – and this is absolutely spectacular! The entire snadstone valley leading toward the treasury is coated in candle lanterns, and at the end you are greeted with a candle lit Treasury of Petra – a site that can’t be imagined. It was honestly breath-taking beyond belief, and it was worth every single penny!

Petra by Night

It was rediscovered by on August 22, 1812 (207 years ago) by a man named John Lewis Burckhardt, and he was the first western person to see the city in many centuries. It is estimated that the last western eyes to have seen the city prior to Burckhardt, were crusaders many hundreds of years before! PLAN A TRIP HERE! It is worth it trust me, unbelievable experience!

Treasury Viewpoint

Cave views of the Monastery