The landscape between Dana and Petra is a landscape of ravines and mountains, with many sculpted sandstone monoliths. We travelled up from the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea - over 400 metres BELOW sea level to the mountain plateaus which are surprisingly luxuriantly vegetated in places. Its a paradise for botanists and bird watchers, with a huge variety of native and migrant visitors. One of my favourite birds was the tiny sunbird, with glossy black and emerald foliage and acrobatic habits. We visited at the tail end of the flowering season of Jordan's national symbol, the magnificent black iris.
No visit to Jordan would be complete without a visit to Petra! This sprawling city is undoubtedly one of the ancient wonders of the world, mainly because of the Nabateans' practice of carving architecture from the sandstone, which has withstood the onslaught of centuries of earthquakes better in general than free standing buildings. Its interesting to reflect on how much of the city is now reduced to heaps of rubble: Perhaps the wonderful architectural facades that we still see were simply sideshows among glorious free-standing structures, long-since collapsed. We shall never know.
It has to be said that Petra suffers a little from its own popularity. The sheer human pressure of so many visitors adds to the natural erosion and feels at times like a relentless tide pouring through the long sig (gorge) that forms the justly famous entrance. However if you spend a few days here as the site deserves, you will succeed in finding quiet moments for contemplation. Quite awe-inspiring really.
 |
| The Monastery in Petra |
 |
| Camels in Petra |
No comments:
Post a Comment