WK17.7 – A Petra Explorer Part 2

Date: Sun 18^th Nov'12
Location: Petra, Jordan

Second day of Petra. I got myself a 2 day Petra pass. One day is definitely not enough if you want to see everything. And if you want to see all the small stuff, you probably need three days. I set off early today, since I want to be done by afternoon. My legs were already complaining from a full day yesterday, and I don't think I can last another full 8 hours of continuous walking.

The plan was to visit the places I missed out yesterday. And hike up the hill to get a top-down view of the Treasury. I set off alone today, since the rest were either sleeping in, or they had already gone for a marathon round Petra hike even earlier than I.

Here's the photo essay of Day 2 of Petra.

I headed straight in, through the Siq, past the Treasury and into the ancient city. There, standing on my right, are the Four Royal Tombs, much celebrated due to their grandeur. Located halfway up the hill and overlooking the city below, these tombs were thought to belong to nobility.

Complex arches make up the lower levels of the royal tombs.

That's me in front of one of the 4 tombs, the Corinthian Tomb is n! amed for its columns.

A closer look at the Corinthian Tomb. To the left is the very wide Palace Tomb, which looks like the facade of a Roman palace.

Here is a video with commentary, with the four tombs, the Urn Tomb (named for the urn at the top), the Silk Tomb (due to it's layered coloured stone) and the two mentioned tombs, the Corinthian and the Palace Tombs.

Petra Palace Tombs from The Furious Panda on Vimeo.

A boy riding a donkey passes by the tomb entrances.

The magnificent view of Petra below after clambering up above and behind the royal tombs. You can see the theatre on the left, and the structures making up the temples and colonnaded street on the right.

Finally, after a painstaking climb, I ! reach the! point where the rocks parted revealing the Treasury. A view from the top. Brilliant. A, who was hiking with us yesterday, also reached the top and we joined up.

A closer view of the breathtaking Treasury.

The Treasury and the royal tombs down, we descended and proceeded to mop up the remaining structures. This is the fine mosaic floor of the byzantine church at Petra.

This photo is just here because somehow, I look buff in the pic. Hahah. In the background are the columns of the Great Temple.

The Great Temple, and in front of it, the main throughway,

Finishing up, we went to the museum located halfway up the cliff near the Great Temple, accessible through a flight of s! tone step! s. The museum is so-so, but following a trail behind the museum leads to more spectacular views.