Petra: Foreshadowings of the Modern

At various times in history art or architecture has been produced that resonates surprisingly with the modern sensibility. Think of the stylized forms of Neolithic sculpture, following the long period of Paleolithic mimetic art. Think of Arcimboldo in the 16th Century or the psycho-heads of Messerschmidt in the 18th. Plus the depradations of time--erosion and careless or deliberate destruction--transform  classical and later art and architecture into ruins, which have appealed to the developing modernist sensibility since the late 18th Century.
In this context Petra, the ancient city of the Nabateans that flourished from the 2nd Century BCE to the 4th CE, must be the iconic example. It was rediscovered by Swiss art historian Jacob Burkhardt in 1815 and has steadily grown in popularity leading to its status today as Jordan's main attraction and a prime site on most travelers' short list. As such, the entry fee is comparable to that of Disney World: $74 for one day and $81 for two.
The first thing about visiting Petra is walking the mile-long "Siq" to the city entrance. The Siq is like a slot canyon, maybe 30 feet wide at the widest point, and sometimes as narrow as 10 feet. The canyon walls offer fabulous shapes, and there are also rock-hewn structures and the ruins of statues along the way. It was perfect for the defense of the city, since it's the only approach to it. And at the end, of course, the famous classical facade of the sandstone Treasury peeks through the rock slot in the view that so many photographers and painters before them (like Frederick Church) have made famous. You can imagine the jockeying among the tourists to capture that view.

Once you see the entire facade one is tempted to say the whole journey has been worth it--such is the power of the Siq's framing: this is your reward for the walk (among crowds of tourists with horse-drawn two-wheeled phaetons blazing through pushing you aside, in addition to horses and donkeys, the entire length of the trail).

In the two days I visited Petra I counted four major sectors of the visit: (1) walking the mile plus main road from the entrance to the climb to the "Monastery" at the end, (2) the climb to the overview at the holy place of sacrifice from the main square, (3) the royal tombs, which look down on the main square, and (4) the 900 step climb to the "Monastery" at the end. It's a lot of walking. If you have one more day there are more things to explore that I didn't get to, including a Byzantine church and tombs and ancient residences beyond the Royal Tombs.

That first afternoon I managed to walk about a third of the main road and do the climb up to the place of sacrifice. This is steeper than the Monastery climb, and there are donkeys passing in both directions (and people incessantly hawking donkey--and camel--rides). There are also trinket shops all the way up. In fact, they're everywhere in Petra. I certainly didn't need anything, but I succumbed to one 12-year-old girl's unexpected sales technique: she "gave" me a rather plain necklace then asked me which ones I really liked. I picked out two. How could I not? Then she said I could have them for 35 dinars, or about $45. I turned to walk away. The price went down to 30. This repeated until the price for the two was at 15 JD, which I accepted.  All this was done in a completely unemotional tone, which should have tipped me off. I later found out that the going rate for these necklaces was 5 JD each, which is exactly what I paid for the three of them.

The afternoon light was strong, and I could see that some of it penetrated one of the tombs on the right, so I proceeded to it, followed by another pre-adolescent girl, who kept trying to offer to by my guide. Inside the tomb chamber her friend joined her, and the sales spiel fell away and I gave them one of my good-will cards, with my friends and family portraits on it. Then I began photographing them. First a double portrait, 

Then her friend launched into a series of poses in the light spilling into the chamber. I was delighted with her spontaneity:

My first successful seller:

On the way up to the place of sacrifice another merchant showed me some antique coins, and I couldn't resist one of them. His lowest price on the one I liked was 15 JD. I offered him 10. He had to consult with his wife, who, fortunately, was right there. She agreed. I even got his only small plastic bag.

The man who sold me the coin.

At the summit there was yet another merchant, the flaps of his tent waving in the breeze. No, I didn't buy anything from him, but I did accept his kind offer of the standard sweet tea. And the view was magnificent.

The last stand, on the top of the place of sacrifice.

The last merchant, who offered me the tea despite no sale.

The view from the place of sacrifice.

The second day I returned with Barbara, who immediately fell in love with the camels in front of the Treasury. Since I'm slower than she is as a photographer, we agreed to part and then meet later in the central square. But we missed each other. She thought I would immediately go up to the Royal Tombs, and I thought she would skip them and proceed to the Monastery, so that's what I did first. On the way I passed the ruin of the columned main street, and that of the main temple, which my graduate school alma mater, Brown University, is excavating.

On the way up to the Monastery I fell in with two American women who were part of their church group visiting the Holy Land and had just come from Israel. We became instant travel companions, especially Ruth, who had lost her dear husband 6 years before and had "made her peace with it." At somewhere around 80 she was one of the most charming  and winsome people I had ever met. I treated her to a glass of bottled water in a cafe along the way.

Finally at the Monastery, I met other members of her group, and we helped each other up the 4.5 foot vault into the Monastery's single chamber, again, bathed with afternoon light.

The Monastery. Note that there are no stairs leading into it. You have to get yourself up about 4.5 feet in order to enter. People inside gave me a hand, and I continued the practice.

The ceiling of the Monastery

Ruth photographs the ceiling along with other members of her group.

But the main revelation of Petra, the thing that makes it so modern-seeming, is the multi-colored sandstone that many of the facades and interiors of chambers are carved out of. Here is a selection of my favorites: