Photo. The Deir
- the Monestary in Little
Petra - the Red-Rose city. © Travel Explorations.
The Monestary is one of the largest monuments in Little Petra. It`s is also the monument
located farest away from the main gate. The Deir recieved this name from the cave that is
known as the Hermit's Cell. No one knows where this name came from, and it may
have only come into use after the Middle Ages.
Experiencing Jordan`s wonders will definitely
ensure travel tales to tell the grandkids. The World Heritage List includes 812 properties forming part of the cultural
and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having
outstanding universal value. These include 628 cultural, 160 natural and 24
mixed properties in 137 States Parties. Among these properties Jordan has as
mentioned three. According to UNESCO based on information from its website:
Petra (1985):
It`s also called the the Capital City of Nabataea.
Inhabited since prehistoric times, this Nabataean caravan-city, situated between
the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, was an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt
and Syria-Phoenicia.
Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded
by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. It`s one of the world's most famous
archaeological sites, where ancient Eastern traditions blend with Hellenistic
architecture.
In 1993, Jordan set aside a hundred odd square miles of rugged canyon country
as a national park. This park not only contains the ancient city of Petra with
it's priceless monuments, but all through the park are steep walled canyons with
old caravan roads that once moved exotic eastern goods to the Egyptian, Greek
and Roman Empires.
Photos. Some of the monuments in Little Petra
(ancient site) near the village Petra. © Travel Explorations.
It was still inhabited during the Byzantine period, when the former Roman
empire moved its focus east to Constantinople, but then declined in importance.
Christianity arrived in the 4th century, Islam in the 7th century, and the
Crusaders constructed a fort there in the 12th century, but soon withdrew,
leaving Petra to the local people.
The city lay almost forgotten for over 500 years and only on 22 August 1812
was it "rediscovered" by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784-1817),
who persuaded a guide to lead him there by claiming that he wanted to slaughter
a goat in honour of Aaron.
When T.E. Lawrence visited the site in 1914, he described
it as "the most wonderful place in the world".
It is now overwhelmingly the most popular tourist
attraction in Jordan and featured in the final sequence of the film "Indiana
Jones And The Last Crusade".
The most known monuments in the Petra site are: the Treasury, Street of
Facades, Water Works, The Theater, The Royal Tombs, High Place, Colonnade
Street, Great Temple, Temple of Al Uzza, Temple of Dushares, Dier - the
Monestary, Habis, Biera, City of Board Games, the Snake Monumen, Sabara Suburb,
City Walls/Map, Al Beidha, Churches, Kubtha High Place and Wadi Nmeir.
|
Photo.
Khasneh - the Treasury.
As one comes to the end of the siq, the first and greatest monument of Little
Petra slowly comes into view. This is the famous Treasury monument, also
called the Khasneh.
© Travel Explorations. |
 |
Walking around in Little Petra it`s almost like
living in prehistoric times. It`s also like escaping from reality, but it couldn`t be more real than this.
Other wonders in Jordan on the UNESCO-list are:
Quseir Amra (1985):
Built in the
early 8th century, this exceptionally well-preserved desert castle was both a
fortress with a garrison and a residence of the Umayyad caliphs. The most
outstanding features of this small pleasure palace are the reception hall and
the hammam, both richly decorated with figurative murals that reflect the
secular art of the time.
Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a) (2004):
Most of the Um er-Rasas
archaeological site has not been excavated. Containing remains from the Roman,
Byzantine and Early Moslem periods (end of 3rd to 9th century AD), the site
started as a Roman military camp and grew to become a town as of the 5th
century. There has been little excavation of the ca 150-m by 150-m fortified
military camp.
The site also has several churches, some with well preserved mosaic floors.
Particularly noteworthy is the mosaic floor of the Church of Saint Stephen with
its representation of towns in the region. Two square towers are probably the
only remains of the practice, well known in this part of the world, of the
stylite monks (i.e. ascetic monks who spent time in isolation atop a column or
tower). Um er-Rasas is surrounded by, and dotted with, remains of ancient
agricultural cultivation.
UNESCO`s justification for this inscription is
that Um er-Rasas is a masterpiece of human creative genius given the
artistic and technical qualities of the mosaic floor of St Stephen's church. The
monument presents a unique and complete (therefore outstanding) example of stylite towers,
and it`s strongly associated with monasticism and with the spread of monotheism
in the whole region, including Islam.
Read more about these monuments on UNESCO`s website http://whc.unesco.org.
Near Wadi Feinan I visited this year (2005) remains of the ancient
capital of the Edomite kingdom. Feinan is a large area of copper mines. In
ancient times these mines were among the largest in the world.
|
Photo. An ancient copper mine in Feinan. It`s
an almost untouched ancient site here waiting for being thouroughly
explored.
A local Bedouin man is guiding me around.
© Travel
Explorations. |
 |
From Feinan, one of the most beautiful off-roads in Jordan, I took the
way to Beidha or Little Petra, which dates back to the Stone Age. On my way I
observed ancient site under excavation. It was closed for visitors. Around the
site it was a fence.
Photo. An ancient site under excavation between
Feinan and Little Petra.
© Travel Explorations. |
 |
Jordan is a small country in size, but it`s full of ancient sites and
tresauries. It must be the dreaming place for an real explorere and adventurer.
The country offers places where fairytale become reality.
Jordan is full of unexcavated ancients sites. For example in Petra, my Jordan
guide told me that ca. 80 % of the site was unexplored. I also observed some
excavation work near the Treasury monument. I also observed other excavation
work several places around in Jordan. So it wouldn`t surprise me if UNESCO
inscribed more monuments in Jordan on its list. I will say Jordan is just
perfect for achieving fairytale adventures just like Indina Jones.
Stein Morten Lund, 11 August 2005
Additional information
Explore more of
the Nabataen Empire on Travel Explorations. Read our articles about the amazing
wonders in Petra in Jordan.
We will also present tour operators from Jordan where travellers can book
there adventure tours.
The tour operator Jordan Beauty Tours made my tour
become a great adventure for life. Especially thanks to these persons: Joseph,
Ibrahim, Abdullah and Ali.
Contact information for our recommended tour operator in Jordan (who also
arrange tours to other countries in the Middle East):
Jordan Beauty
Tours
Tel. +962 795581644
Fax. +962 3 2154 999
E-mail: info@jordanbeauty.com
Website: www.jordanbeauty.com
Tourist St. Near
Movenpick Hotel
P.O.Box : 8
Petra 71810
JORDAN
E-mail this
Print this
