Life’s been high on adventure lately, if low on sleep. Usually, I manage to find something beautiful, something that moves me wherever I go. But last night, in Petra, that didn’t happen.
Petra By Night
Lit only by candles and a shower of stars overhead, Petra’s passageway to the Treasury hides its main attraction beneath a reverential darkness. The curves and ripples of raspberry-rust rock that mesmerize by day disappear at night, lost in the inky silence.
Footsteps move across the stone and cats cry beyond in the shadows.
We are, after all, approaching a tomb. Or a temple. The Treasury was built not to store money – but to commemorate the dead or to worship the gods. Petra, as you might expect from a city that’s thousands of years old, has plenty of mysteries.
As we grow nearer, a voice sings to the solemn crowd, an invisible man among an expanse of candles shrouded in brown paper bags.
Petra by night wasn’t beautiful and it didn’t move me. Amid the half-light in Jordan, it overwhelmed me.
Petra By Night
I’ll write more about Petra and Jordan soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these photos as I grab a few moments of sleep…
Disclosure: I am visiting Jordan as a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. All views, as ever, are mine.
UPDATE: I have gathered my posts about Jordan and a list of travel resources for Jordan on a page over here. For a romantic interpretation of Petra at Night, read A Perfect Place to Propose by Keith Jenkins of Velvet Escape, while Melvin from Traveldudes headed straight to the bar.
Very cool post! I went to Petra last year and liked it, but…it was midday and hot as hell. The sun was blinding at times.I drank two large bottles of water in just a few hours.
I like the way your nighttime experience looks. Like an entirely different world–and one I would have enjoyed (and possibly even preferred). Thanks for this quick glimpse into it…
I went during the day as well but forgot the water and ended up with a splitting headache! Such a basic mistake…The night visit was surreal – calm, beautiful, ethereal…Wonderful.
Hi Abigail,
This is just gorgeous. Sharing it on our Fb page too :) We’re a travel blog that’s celebrating India and everything quirky about her !
Its always a pleasure to meet other fellow travel enthusiasts who go beyond the ordinary. I loved your other post on ‘Read Softly…because you tread on my dreams’ :)
Will stay connected to you for inspiration
Ciao
Lalitha
Thank you – glad it helped.
That is just so romantic looking. /sigh
I was there the night before my anniversary – just not with my husband! Half a romance I suppose…;)
Very different perspective on Petra. Love the photos!
Thank you
Beautiful. I would LOVE to experience this. I hope you are having a wonderful time.
I have a feeling you would enjoy it enormously…