b'Different views of Petra can be seen by climbing the rocks surrounding the carved buildings.:THE LAST WONDER OF THE WORLDsee why it is nicknamed the Rose City. stepping over other people tond a seat Idrovefrom Ammantoarriveearlyon the soft Jordanian sand.in the evening, and had enough time toThe light show was about 20 minutes check into my hotel, the Movenpick, di- late in starting and began with 30 minutes rectly across the road from the entranceofchanting.Myinterestdiminishedas tothearcheologicalwonder.IquicklyI sat in the dark, surrounded by many made my way across the street, to viewtourists listening to what became a very JONATHAN VAN BILSEN the advertised light show, which happensrepetitive sound. I then realized all these once or twice a week, and I did not wantpeople would all be leaving at the same Thereisadestination,whichhasto miss it. time, causing a rush and decided to give been on my bucket list for many years,Not knowing too much about the site, Ithe rest of the performance a miss. and I wasnally able to spend two dayspurchased my ticket and walked throughI woke early the next morning, and exploring its every nook and cranny. Thea narrow passage, bound on each side bywas at the gate at 7 a.m. I met my guide location was Jordans Petra Valley, one ofextremely high cliffs. Small paper bags,there and we began to explore. Whatever the Seven Wonders of the World, and the preconceived visions I had conjured uplled with sand and a candle, dimly lighted only one I had not seen. the pathway. I was grateful for theash- in the darkness the night before, had not For those unfamiliar with Petra, it islight on my phone, as I was not aware theprepared me for the vast beauty of what located in the southern part of Jordan,trek was two and a half kilometres long.was before me. Cliffs, hundreds of metres aboutathree-hourdrivefrom Amman.Itwasextremelyeerie,asthepathhigh, rose straight up and seemed to al-Part of the desert of Jordan, it was forwas about 3 or 4 metres (10-12 feet) widemost come together at the top. The sides many years the capital city of the formerwith paths, which were quite uneven. Iweresmooth,withcarvingsalongthe Nabatean Kingdom, a race which ruledwalked for what seemed an eternity, andway, made by a civilization nearly 2,500 the Middle East for centuries. came upon an opening, which revealedyears ago.The most recognizable monument inthe dimply-lit temple before me. It wasThe area looked totally different in the the site is Al-Khazneh, a temple with anmassive,butthehundredsofpeople,daytime, and was nearly void of people, ornate,Greek-stylefacade,andknowntransported on buses from cruise ships inas cruise ship passengers would not ar-as the Treasury. It dates back to 300 BCEAqaba (two hours away), had little respectrive until noonish. We walked briskly along and is carved entirely out of the pink co- for the historic element of the place, andthe 2.5 km stretch, and came upon an loured sandstone. One can immediatelywere more interested in taking sel es andPlease turn to page 32FOCUS - JANUARY 202031'