After a wonderful DAY 1 exploring Petra we head back in the way we did yesterday (the only entrance open to tourists). No need to get another ticket – show yesterday’s one at the entrance and walk back in through the Siq.
- A few minutes walk past the Treasury, you take the steps on your left (near the toilets, before the theatre) up to the High Place of Sacrifice.
With our early start and most people heading down the main strip of Petra we had the climb through Wadi al Muhfar mostly to ourselves. Some cool views were had…
The Nabataean engineers sliced out corridors through the rock to house the stairs. It made for a dramatic but easy uphill walk of about half an hour I think – no climbing and clambering required. It was nice to do this in the shade, another reason for doing this early on Day 2 instead of cramming it into the end of Day 1. Spot the only other person we saw on our walk up the deep ravine in the photo below.
The first signs that you are near the top are two obelisks, both over 6 m tall. These are believed to be representations of the chief Nabataean deities; Dushara and al-Uzza. What is rather amazing is that these solid structures weren’t placed up here… the side of the mountain was instead cut away and leveled to leave them sticking up like this!
- Once at the top, take your time to soak in the incredible views and spend time enjoying the peace. You might want to get a cup of tea from the bedouin at the top with the best views and don’t miss the ritual sites.
We took our time up here – first listening to a local fellow explain the various elements of the ritual sites and then enjoying the 360 degree views.
It was fascinating to see the pool where they collected rain water to wash the animals before sacrifice and then the place where they killed them (photo above), also the area where the crowds would have sat facing this spot and the statues of the gods that were once beside it. Watch this video to see the different ritual sites and the views:
We had some pizza and a rest in the shade and took lots of photos to try and capture the amazing views. In the picture below you can see the main temple at the end of Petra’s main street… it’s the square building on the right – about Antony’s elbow height. Reluctantly leaving the high place, we headed down a back route to eventually reach that temple Qasr Al Bint a few hours later.
- From the High Place head down the western cliff of the Attuf ridge down into Wadi Farasa which forms a loop meeting up with Qasr’al Bint and the main route back. The route through Wadi Farasa takes a couple of hours and there’s lots to see on the way.
We saw the donkey at the Lion Fountain. A monument carved out of the cliff side which once had water gushing out of the Lion’s mouth – thanks to a water channel carved above it which collected water from a nearby spring. The water gathered in a basin here then spilled over down the hill to a large cistern at the bottom of the mountain. This fountain was perhaps designed to refresh and prepare devotees on their way up to the High Place of Sacrifice.
When you finish descending all the steps you get to the Garden Triclinium, the area with a cistern and more tombs and architectural features.
Beyond the Garden Triclinium you go down more stairs to the Roman Soldier Tomb (pictured below) and another tomb opposite which is beautiful inside. They were both once part of a larger complex with a garden and courtyard. Despite the name the tomb was for a Nabotaean, not a Roman soldier.
There were more tombs and then we got out to an open area and walked along the valley down to Qasr Al Bint. We got approached by a young child trying to get us to pay her for guiding us (which we didn’t ask for)… when that was met with a firm no she tried selling us postcards. We didn’t want to support children working – she was only around 10. It’s a shame that it is lucrative for the kids to work so they do that instead of going to school.
- Once you reach the temple, walk up to what was the museum once upon a time and head round the corner and just explore a bit… follow right around to your left and you will hopefully come across the ruins of the crusader fort.
We didn’t really know where we were going but followed a sign to the museum. It was closed and long gone so we just followed the small path all around the hill and came across some fantastic views and ruins of a fort built in 1115 by the Crusaders. We had the place and the magnificent views all to ourselves which made it that much more special!
We did what any sensible tourists would do and had fun taking lots of jumping photos with the cool backdrop! In the middle picture below, Antony’s hands are pointing to the High Place of Sacrifice where we started the day. After descending from there we walked across the open space on the right of the picture.
- After enjoying the views head back to the exit via the main street – taking time to explore things that you might want to re-visit. Absorb the amazingness of the Treasury one last time before walking down the busy Siq – now teeming with people going in and out.
- You will be out in plenty of time to have lunch and get your bags and make your way to the bus station (soak up time in the museum if you didn’t see it when you arrived). Take the bus to Amman at 4pm but make sure you buy tickets online first.
Before we wrap up these two Petra posts, did you know that Petra lay undiscovered to the world for more than a thousand years? It wasn’t until 1812 that it was rediscovered by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. He was Swiss but disguised himself as an Arab, living in Syria for a few years to learn the language, culture and religion (Islam). His story is fascinating! Read it here.