Petra and the Trip Home

February 18, 2026

Petra and the Trip Home

We returned to Petra this morning with our guide and toured the site.  The Nabateans were an Arab civilization which existed from the 4th century BCE until the Romans annexed them in 106 CE.  Petra was the capital city, and only 15-20% of the city has been excavated.  There are mounds which remain to be explored, and most of the city’s residential areas remain hidden.  It is estimated that the population might have been as great as 30,000.

There is a visitors' center at the entrance to the site, and a broad walk for about ¼ mile to the canyon which leads to the city.  From there, it’s a narrow downhill canyon all the way, mostly a gentle downhill but with some steep portions.  Here’s the entrance to the canyon: 

And a view in it: 

This is a very arid area, and the Nabateans had an elaborate water system to bring fresh water to the city.  Part of it was this channel along the side of the canyon, built with mortar and ceramic pipes: 


After 1.4 miles, this comes into view: 

It is the Treasury, the most famous building at the site, and the location of the sound and light show we saw last night: 

Leaving the courtyard in front of the Treasury is a short branch of the canyon which leads to a broad road where the city was: 

Along the side, carved into the mountain, are mausoleums: 

Here is a bilingual contract, in Aramaic (used by the Nabateans) and Greek (used by the Romans after their conquest), for the land for a burial site.  Yes, the legal language of the Romans, at least here, was Greek:

There is a theater which was built by the Nabateans and enlarged by the Romans: 

This is Ad Deir, called the Monastery, which is a massive 1st-century rock-cut temple carved by the Nabateans.  It’s the largest monument found so far—50 meters wide and 45 meters high.  It was turned into a monastery by the Byzantines: 

These are the Royal Tombs: 

Our exploration of Petra took about three hours, after which we went back to the hotel for lunch.  We then drove to the Amman airport, about 3 ½ hours, where we had an 8:25 PM flight to Cairo, arriving at 8:55 PM with a one-hour time change.  Clearly geopolitics has some effect on routing--Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, but our flight took twice the time it should have, as we didn't fly over Israel on the way to Cairo.  From Amman south to Aqaba, then across the Gulf of Aqaba to the Sinai Peninsula which belongs to Egypt.

We then sat around waiting for our 2:05 AM flight to Toronto.  Right.  Departure at 2:05 AM, arrival in Toronto at 7:20 AM.  This was a long day, and we were exhausted and slept pretty well on the plane!  We got our car in Toronto and drove to Rochester, arriving home at 11:30.

So that’s the end of this Egypt/Jordan blog.  Thanks to everyone who commented and sent notes.  Our next big trip is Bhutan, with visits to Oman and the UAE (Dubai) on the way to Bhutan.  I’ll hope to keep snapping photos and writing.

Comments

  1. Ralph P. LockeFebruary 24, 2026 at 1:18 PM

    I'm overwhelmed, just seeing these images on my foot-wide computer screen. I can't imagine what it must be like to wander amidst those high walls, and then to spy the vast carved treasury building beyond, etc. And it was a civilization with its own character, presumably, yet shaped by the bigger empires around it.
    Thanks also for the interesting details, such as about the airplane's flight path because of international, errrrr, arrangements. I guess nothing is ever straightforward in the Middle East.

    ReplyDelete

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