Along with the four other students from Rice University, I had the incredible chance to visit Petra, the Rose Red City.  Although classes at Qasid just had just started, I was excited to get the chance to visit the famed City and after that, the deserts of Wadi Rum, and Jordan’s port city of Aqaba.

We began our first adventure to Petra where we study daily: the Sony Building on Queen Raina Street where Qasid is located.  All five students (Max, Valeria, Alex, Elliot and me) and two faculty members from Rice (Prof. Awad and Prof. Narbona) climbed into the bus and we left the capital of Amman in the heat of the afternoon.  Since we left a little late, we ended up getting to Petra a few hours after we expected.  After eating a huge and delicious dinner at our hotel, we all headed to bed.

Waking up at 6:30AM usually is a unwelcome order for a college student during the summer.  However, this morning was unlike any other morning.  Today, I would be seeing one of the great wonders of the world: The Ancient city of Petra.  With this excitement and energy, I headed downstairs to grab a quick breakfast at the hotel buffet before our group began the short hike to the ruins.

We passed through the visitor’s entrance and began the trek through the “Siq” to the “Khezneh”.   The Khezneh, or Treasury, is the most famous landmark of Petra, just visible through slim canyon that is the route to the ancient city.  The “Siq” is the traditional arabic name for this canyon.  As we descended into the Siq, our guide keenly pointed out special carvings, some Roman and some Nabatean, that held special significance with their sculptors.   An especially interesting feature was the intricate system of water ducts and canals that ran through the walls of the Siq.  With the Siq’s downward gradient, water from sources outside the city was able to be diverted into these ducts and into the parched interior of the mountains, where most of the residents once lived.  All of us were amazed at we wondered at the incredible engineering feats that the Nabateans and Romans were able to accomplish in such an inhospitable land.

We made our way through the Siq, getting closer and closer to the Khezneh.  As we approached, our guide had us pair up, with another in our group for an as-of-yet unknown purpose.  One closed their eyes; the other led.  Unsure of my footing, we made slow progress but thankfully, soon enough we were allowed to uncover our eyes.

There before me lay the iconic Treasury, exactly as I had seen in books and movies.  Just peeking through the narrow walls of the gorge stood the rose red columns and pediments that I had read about and researched.  We approached and began to explore, while our guide fed us a wealth of information.

After spending time walking through the  ancient city, our group elected to spend an hour traveling up to the Monastery, a remote structure set deep into the colorful rocks up high in the mountains of Petra. Since we were a little cramped on time, we took (unfortunately aged) donkeys (which I cant imagine ended up being any faster than walking ahaha), and with extra care to stay perched atop the donkey’s back, we picked our way up the some 800 steps deep into the rocky cliffs under the steadily rising midday sun.

Although we didn’t have time to climb to the lookout to see the surrounding deserts and “wadi”s, the Monastery was an incredibly well preserved sandstone structure, and thankfully much less touristy than the Khezneh in the valley below.  As it was getting late in the day, we had to head back after a half hour exploring the Monastery. With an exhausting hike back down the mountains and through the now blazing hot city of Petra, we were all relieved to head back to our hotel and shower.

The Mövenpick Hotel in the modern city of Petra served us a absolutely delicious and beautiful lunch, after which we all climbed back into the van and set off for our next destination: Wadi Rum.

In the Siq!