The Red-Rose City
We got up at the crack of dawn, packed some breakfast and walked the 300 metres from our hotel to the visitors centre. This was in order to avoid the hoards of tourist that arrive by coach and descend on the ancient city around 8 am! More than 2000 years old, Petra was built by the Nabateans and it prospered in the first centuries AD. From here the Nabateans commanded the trade routes from Damascus to Arabia. Great spice, silk and slave caravans passed through, paying taxes and protection money. Today you can see intricate facades sculpted into the sandstone cliffs all around the area. The Treasury or Al Khazna as it is called here is perhaps the most famous and for those of you who are Indiana Jones fans you will instantly recognise it! We didn’t see the whole complex as our kids were a little tired so our kids travelled back by horse. As we headed to the top we could not find an easy path because of the swarms of German, Italian and Japanese tourists who were eager to reach the sights. Thank God we got up early!
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