Whatever Enters My Head

The domestic buildings in Petra fascinated and amazed me. Rough-hewn, far from the smooth extravagance of the tombs, the homes let the natural beauty of the rock shine through. I really wished they’d polish up this area and clean the dust out and just let the swirls and burst of color just shine. I’ll be when there were people living here it was a beautiful place. I can imagine wall hangings and cushions of blue and purple to contrast against the strong reds and oranges of the rock, deep shadows… brass lanterns hanging in the pits of the wall. I’ll bet it was beautiful at night.

Besides the tremendous tombs, there are many really amazing domestic dwellings at Petra. Some are still lived in by the locals. Even though they aren’t carved as majestically, you can see that the sandstone provides more than enough decoration. The photo really doesn’t do it justice.

I’m in a cave similar to the ones you can see across the valley, looking out.

These Steps lead off the main road and marketplace through Roman era Petra, leading up to a temple complex. I wonder how many worshippers passed up and down these steps, leaving the shade of the portico and entering the din and stench that always followed a place of animal sacrifice.

Looks pretty clean now, doesn’t it?

This gentleman was serenading all passersby with some traditional music. I have no idea what this instrument is called, but it actually sounded a lot better than it looks.

This is one of the first shots on the trip where I wasn’t afraid to make eye contact and get inside his space and out of my comfort zone in order to take a photo. It is something I wish I had done more often on the trip, and I’m really glad I did this time.

Wide angles are dangerous. They are addictive, magical, and if you are not careful, can cut your trip abruptly by allowing yourself to get closer to a camel than you really should. The 11m makes for splendid focal points, but be cautious when a subject 6 inches looks like 6 feet away. Especially subjects with bad breath, bad attitude, and bad teeth.

This thing is so massive, words can’t describe it. It’s hard to imagine it was made by men with chisels, lowering themselves from the cliff, carving out a shelf, and then working their way down the face, carving as they went. Whenever they needed a room, they’d tunnel in, widen out, and carve their way down. That’s why there is a little “window” above every room.

This is of course yet another HDR. You will see quite a lot of them this trip, the high contrast lighting of the desert demanded it.

One thing to remember when visiting archaeological sites, is that nearly everything is still under your feet. At Petra, most of the tombs and caves are about six feet under the path your feet can take. Many of the impressive facades you see are actually six feet higher.

This shot is from one lesser tomb to the great tomb known as the Treasury. The Treasury is so named because the local bedouins believed the king’s treasure was buried there. It was shot by rifles in the hopes that gold coins would come raining down as late as the 1920s. Luckily, the stone is made of pretty stern stuff, and much of the detail is still there, although we have lost the statue and most of the urn sculpture.

This photo is of course an HDR… the huge contrast ratios on most of Petra demanded I shoot a lot of HDRs. Hopefully it’s not too drastic.

After walking down the Siq, the long path to Petra, finally the walls just fall away and reveal the amazing Treasury. It’s an amazing moment, and more than a few people were humming the theme from the Last Crusade as we went in.

I was wearing an Indiana Jones hat. It was great.

That’s not the name of it, but the reds and golds in the swirling sandstone lent a warm hue to everything. As I said in the last post, the Siq is the path from the entrance of Petra to the grand Treasury. It was designed for security, as well as to impressive traders entering the city. We weren’t traders, but it certainly impressed us.

The day of the Sinai climb, we have to leave the Sinai peninsula and travel to Jordan. We took a quick detour through Israel (for 15 minutes, at the border security we had a small bomb scare!), and headed into Jordan where we spent the night at the fabulous Panorama Hotel. I had a massive nosebleed upon entering the country (side effect of dust, elevation changes, staying awake too long, and sinus problems,) but in the end we woke up ready for more adventure. Which was just as well, as the first item on the agenda was the mysterious underground city of Petra.

You may not have heard of Petra, but I’ll wager you have seen it. The most famous building in Petra is called the Treasury, but I’ll save that for later. What you are look at now is called the Siq, a long, twisty pathway through the rock to the main center of Petra. It is tall, cool, and the sides are carved with camels and a water channel to bring water to the city. The rock is a magnificient sort of sandstone, and is full of colors and texture. Following the same path we took, I’m going to take you through the Siq, until we end up at the view of the Treasury. Enjoy!

Also, today is my 700th photo. Thank you all for all your helpful comments and advice over the last few years. Have a great 4th of July weekend!

Because of frequent flash floods in the St. Katherine’s Valley, there were many very interestingly shaped rocks just sitting out in the middle of nowhere. Many had small shrines on them, or crosses. A couple, like this one, were large enough for the Bedouins to dig out underneath the shady side and make camp. This is an HDR. I took it because the light was so direct, I wanted details in the shadows. I toned it down alot, and I think it turned out all right.