PETRA, the City of the Magic Fire (2nd part)
After an evening full of medicines and all kind of therapies, I finally managed to sleep and I woke up at 6 am willing to explore the magic tracks of Petra. I went to the Visitor’s Center and I started walking inside the archeological site at 8:45 am. I expected to find less people, but, to my surprise, there were a lot of big groups walking around, taking pictures and speaking all kind of languages. I was walking so fast to find some peace in there, but soon I found out it was really impossible before reaching again “The Treasury”.
The second day in Petra is different than the first one. “The Siq” and “The Treasury” are already familiar, so you don’t need to spend too much time there anymore. What I did on this part was just walking, and once I reached the Treasury, I went up on the mountain to take some pictures from that angle as well. Being early in the morning, the sun highlighted a part of the place where we were sitting to take “the perfect picture”, so we had the chance to play with the light and shadow and to do some great shoots. Up there, you need to pay 1 JOD, and you receive a black tea… awful! 😊
Once we came back from the mountain and reached again the “Street of Facades”, we passed the “Theatre” and the “Great Temple” and we continued to walk towards the “Ad Deir” known as “The Monastery”. To reach it, we had to climb another mountain, and from a certain point, to walk the 850 stairs on the way up. There were so many donkeys exploited up and down on the mountain to help tourists climb it easily. Some of them were so sad, and I spent some minutes with them just cuddling and making them feeling special. And the most impressive thing was to see a few of them crying while I was petting them. They broke my heart in so many pieces, as I really felt their sadness, loneliness and hard time to cope with the effort their masters were asking them to do. And, to be honest, I don’t think climbing that mountain on the back of a donkey is too much fun. I’ve seen tourists scared, uncomfortable or just tired to keep the balance on some tricky paths to avoid falling from a peak. So, I would say, think twice before asking for a ride. It may cause you more pain then just walking, and you will force an innocent animal to make a huge effort under your weight.
So, step by step, stair by stair, breath by breath, and amazed by the beautiful Canyons we were crossing, we managed to win the race with our own limits, and reach the peak. And there it was “The Monastery”, 47m wide and 48,3 m high. This amazing building dates from 2nd century AD and it took the name “The Monastery” after it was used as a Christian chapel. Different yet similar with “The Treasury”, what stroked me again were the details and the perfect cuts into the mountain. If the “Tombs” and the “Great Temple” are “less perfect” and the time got them and left some important tracks, “The Monastery” and “The Treasury”, are still there and more perfect than the others, even if they are supposed to be older (except “The Church”).
Now, being on the top of the mountain and witnessing such a beautiful architecture, I always have to check it from different perspectives. And here, I had a new idea! Why not taste this monumental building?! 😊 Inspired by the donkeys that were licking the rocks, I tried the same with “The Monastery”. Aaaand… Surprise! The walls are salty! And this information can produce now so many stories. My favorite one is that everything was under the water ages ago, and all the rocks and Canyons around are salty! 😊 I haven’t taste them all, still, I like to believe they are! 😊
Once the crazy things were done and the pics were made, I just set down looking for a while at this amazing shape. It is so beautiful to allow yourself to dive into the unknown story of this place and just feel it inside out. There is this new layer covering the history the local people are telling. This layer much more profound that doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. I think is just there for whom is really interested to see it and to feel it. It’s maybe the unspoken voice of the Mighty Spirit of Creation.
To be continued…
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