Petra - The Rose City Pt. 2

Continuing on the day of exploration from where we left off in Petra Pt. 1, our group ascended canyon stairs up the side of the mountain to see the spectacular view of A-Khazneh from the cliffs above. Upon hearing a strange braying from above, I realized we were under the careful observation of a supervising agent.

From high on the hill, there was a clear view across the tombs to the amphitheatre, Roman temple and into the valley leading up to the Monastery. And also puppies!

Reaching the peak, it was a short descent to the edge over which you can see the Treasury. The little plateau turned out to be a treasure trove of cool creatures. I nearly lost my bananas when I saw something blue dart across my path. Upon researching Jordan (by watching nature documentaries naturally), I learned about a rare, endemic lizard that lives only in the highest peaks of the Petra valley in Jordan and I was pretty sure I just spotted it. 

Running into the spiky bushes like a crazy person, I chased him down and fan girled hard core. I had actually found one - a Sinai Agama (or Sinai Blue Headed Lizard). This is so excitement!!

And up on a rock face, I spotted another treasure - a Roughtail Rock Agama trying to blend in with his surroundings.

Hearing a tiny tweet, the next thing to catch my eye was a greenish-yellow bird butt belonging to what I think is a European Greenfinch.

Looking down once more, I saw a scampering shape in the sand which I'm pretty sure is a Bosk's fringe-toed lizard looking for a spot of lunch.

All of the awesome animal sightings did put me fairly far behind the sightseers though, so I hustled to the tented cafe called the End of the World where we were told the best photos of the treasury were to be taken.

Passing by more amazing kaleidoscope rocks and avoiding the cacti on our way down, we were heading for lunch before tackling more of the sites. Which I thought was a bright idea.

On the way to lunch, we passed one of the many Byzantine churches. A significant number of scrolls in Greek were recovered from the churches. Due to the destructive forces of earthquakes, not much remains of the churches nor much of the sparing glimpses of mosaic work.

Unrelated, look how fluffy these goats are!!

It seems there's only really one place to eat within the gates of Petra and it is quite the racket... It's a $10JOD buffet not including drinks with a good albeit average selection of Middle Eastern dishes. Including some dubious looking ones.

Fully fuelled, it was time to tackle the trek up to the monastery. Following the path that ascends another mountain, we were told it was about an hour and a half or two hours up to the top. I didn't have a watch and was enjoying the company on the way up, so I actually can't attest to how long it took.

The monastery, Ad Deir in Arabic, was dedicated to Nabataean king Obodas who was worshipped as a god. It was carved approximately 150 years after the death of the king and the fanatical worship of Obodas has been referred to as a cult practice. The main hall was later used as a Christian church with crosses carved into the walls, hence the nickname monastery.

Of course an epic battle ensued.

Further up from Ad Deir are three vantage points - two that look out across Wadi Araba mountain range to the Aqaba governate lands. One had a superior view, although a fairly dubious drink along with the offer of a sacrifice, and the bitiest kitty on guard.

The third and most popular vantage point was a peak parallel to Ad Deir with views of the large paved plaza encompassing the front of the building.

Hoofing back down the path, the last large monument on the day's agenda was the massive Great Temple. Found to be roughly 7,000 metres squared, the massive complex is in Nabataean style and constructed by the first century BC. Although called a temple, archaeologists believe the buildings' main uses were civic, likely for judicial or commerce activities.

And I found another Roughtail Rock Agama!

East of the temple complex was the heart of Petra - the main market and shopping area within the colonnaded street. Petra was primarily a trading post afterall.

Speaking of markets and trading, it was back past the shops lining the road on our way out of Petra and back to the hotel for a rest before returning for Petra by Night.

All and all, the consensus between the step counting devices meant we walked about 28.5 km and took between 37,000 and 39,000 steps exploring in one day. There were a few sites that are closed for safety reasons or that we didn't have time or energy to get to. I easily could have spent another half day climbing the remaining peaks to reach the momunments out of our reach in one day.

One last look over my shoulder showed large groups of tourists still arriving, agape at the site of Al Kazneh.

That's another Wonder of the World experienced!