Petra Jordan

The complete city trip guide for Petra (Jordan)

Petra

The ruins of Petra, the ancient Nabatean capital in today's Jordan, constitute one of the most extraordinary and fascinating monumental complexes of the ancient world for the outstanding quality of the architecture and for the city's remarkable position, set amidst rugged hills and narrow gorges. From the fantastic Khasneh to the gigantic Deir, from the spectacular Urn Tomb to the mysterious Temple of the Winged Lions, every monument is described in detail and examined in relation to the complex historical and artistic events of the Rose-red City, the evolution of which is analyzed at length in the introductory chapter. Petra is not unique for its architecture alone. Here, Mother Nature has achieved one of her most original creations, defying her very own rules, laid down at the beginning of time - improbable geometry, unbelievable colors, contrasts that would by unthinkable elsewhere. The illustrations in this book pay tribute to this splendor and make it a work of rare emotional impact.

Life in a Cave in Petra with the Bdoul

From 1981 until 1986, the archaeologist Judith McKenzie, then a graduate student at the University of Sydney, traveled to the ancient site of Petra in Jordan, living in a cave there for extended periods, in order to survey and measure architectural moldings on the rock-cut monuments. It was a critical time in the history of Petra, where, for centuries, its local inhabitants, known as the Bdoul, had lived and worked. But that tradition was coming to a close. In 1985, the Bdoul began a move to the nearby village of Umm Sayhoun, as directed by the Jordanian government. This first-hand account of life in a cave at Petra, based on diaries Judith kept at the time she lived among the Bdoul, is therefore important as a record of a lifestyle now largely vanished. As she writes in her introduction: "I spent so much time socializing with the Bdoul, I came to observe many aspects of Bdoul life in a series of visits over three main field seasons. As women we had access to the world of young girls and women, which men from outside did not, while we were also sometimes treated as honorary men." This memoir thus stands as a reminder of life at Petra before the arrival of modern-day tourism at the site. But this book is not only a memoir. Observations are made on the ways in which the Bdoul have adapted to their new environment. Changes at the site that have taken place since 1981 because of weathering and erosion are recorded through comparisons between photographs taken forty years ago and more recent images. Ramifications of the expansion of the tourist-industry at Petra in the 21st century are also considered. Life in a Cave in Petra with the Bdoul: 1981-1986 is therefore an important and essential volume on the archaeology and history of one of the best-known ancient sites in the world.