Petra - The High Place of Sacrifice

We made our way through the Siq again, admiring some of the many carvings and geological formations.

We then climbed up yet more steps cut into the rock, 

and after 40 minutes, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of one of the theatres from 170 meters.

The High Place was the venue for important religious ceremonies honouring Nabatean gods (probably including human and animal sacrifice) and it was perhaps also used for funeral rites.

Instead of going back the same way, we took the Wadi Farasa trail, which in a couple of hours would take us down to Petra City Centre. We only met a handful of people, so it felt like we were the only ones there. It was great not having to say "No Thank You" very politely to the many Jordanians trying to make a living off the tourists in Petra, as they were largely non-existent on this trail; Camel/Horse/Donkey rides, tea, postcards, water, trinkets, etc were repeatedly offered, often with the caption 'free" which basically meant an expensive tip was required! The nice thing in Jordan was that when you said 'no thank you' very politely and looked them in the eye, you were left alone. The local Bedouins were generally very polite and respectful!

The Lion Monument had probably been a drinking fountain with water coming from the lion's mouth. Use your imagination to see the lion; hint: right eye is visible!

We descended steps which zig zagged down the side of the mountain, 

to the Garden Triclinium and the Roman Soldier Tomb, wrongly named so as it looks like the headless man in the middle is wearing a cuirass, but the tomb is Nabatean.

We saw more tombs as well as houses built into the slopes, as we made our way back to city centre. We didn't manage to see it all, but we did do all the recommended highlights, and it was truly amazing.

It is difficult to imagine what Petra must have looked like in it's golden age, when it was a wealthy city, home to tens of thousands of people. What today are ruins were once grand temples and buildings, there were lush gardens in what now looks lush dusty waste.

It was so nice to see ruins that were not Roman, having previously travelled to Italy, Turkey and Greece! We spend some time on a bench admiring the Treasury a final time, before leaving Petra.