Holy Land Pilgrimage: The Paean that is Petra

The iconic Treasury in Petra, Jordan

Petra. A pre-historic Nabataean caravan city half-built, half-carved into pink sandstone cliffs. It is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage site. And, for those who enjoy adventure movies like me, it’s also interesting to note Petra had a stellar role in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Petra was not part of our pilgrimage because it was not mentioned in the bible as a place Jesus walked through. Britannica, however, mentions in their website that “It was purported to be one of the places where Moses struck a rock and water gushed forth.” It was included in our itinerary because we were already in Jordan, and we couldn’t miss seeing this wondrous sight. It may not be a religious site, but still, it is a paean to God’s majesty. Gazing upon those cliffs sculpted by wind and water, I could only feel awe for God’s work.

Bro Arun Gogna, our tour leader, gave us a mantra during our pre-departure orientation: “We are pilgrims, not tourists.” But for this trip to Petra, he said we can be tourists. His suggestion though was for us to offer the long hike as a sacrifice for the people who requested prayers from us. From time to time, I strayed from our group and offered my aching leg muscles as my sacrifice for family and friends back home. It felt good to take thoughts of them with me on that trek.

And it was a long trek. From the Wadi Musa Visitor’s Center, we trudged through Bab As-Siq, a 2-kilometer dusty trail.

 

Bab As-Siq

I was tempted to just ride the carriage with Papa and the rest of the group not fit to walk the distance.

 

Carriage to Petra

But I’m glad I decided to walk. Otherwise, I would not have been able to relish the sight of the interesting structures along the way

 

Carved buildings along Bab As-Siq

like the Obelisk Tomb.

 

Obelisk Tomb

Further down, we entered a winding gorge called Al Siq which is the main entrance to the city.

 

Al Siq

Within this narrow canyon, we beheld more wonders: unusual rock formations like the one that looked like an elephant, tombs carved into the cliffside, giant cube sentinels, partly eroded sculptures and remains of clay pipes that used to bring water to the city.

 

Remains of a Sculpture

I also got the chance to photograph some of the denizens of Petra like the soldiers in ancient Nabataean garb 

Nabataean Soldiers

and a Bedouin playing the rebab (a violin-like musical instrument) and his daughter.

Bedouin playing a rebab and his daughter

 

I can’t fully describe how amazed I was as I stepped out of the canyon and beheld Al-Kazneh or the Treasury, Petra’s most famous icon. That majestic structure, a 45-meter-high temple, was ornately carved into the cliff as a tomb for Nabatean King Aretas III.

 

Al-Kazneh

But that was not all. Along the Street of Facades there were similar structures, though not as grand. We didn’t have much time to linger but we still got to view the tombs in the Theater Necropolis and the Petra Theater, an amphitheater carved out of solid rock.

 

The tombs of Theater Necropolis

Not to be outdone by these structures carved by man was the natural grandeur of the cliffs that rose to kiss the blue skies.

 

A youth serenely enjoying his lofty perch on one of the cliffs of Petra

How glorious it is when God and man create things together. Petra is a song of praise to God. My heart exultantly joined in that paean as I thanked God for bringing me to this wondrous place and on my birthday at that.