Wednesday Wonders – Petra (Rose City), Jordan

Hi again! Welcome to my next post for my WonderLesch blog on the Wednesday Wonders of the world! Join me on a virtual trip through the finest views and experiences that the modern world has to offer, maybe you’ll end up booking a flight yourself…

Today, we will be talking about Petra, in Jordan. Petra is an archaeological site, that has the amazing feat of being carved in stone. The site was carved in the third century by a middle-eastern civilization called the Nabateans, who are deemed today as one of the most expert civilizations in stone carving, decoration and city planning. Petra not only had to be planned visually, it had to function as a treasury, sacrifice site, and one of the main points where the Nabateans used to live.

As a result, Petra was one of the most amazingly built cities, that served as a shelter for Nabateans, where they remained unconquered for centuries, until an earthquake or a natural disaster of great proportion took the great city and transformed it into a ruin. Nevertheless, it is an amazing site, which preserves most of its visual characteristics for visitors all around the world to rejoice in.

It has a complex system of aqueducts, tunnels and several sites with different functionalities that are all connected and decorated with the utmost detail. Petra is carved into sandstone that has a gorgeous pink-ish hue, earning it the nickname of “Rose City” among the international visitors that have been amazed by the sights of the area.

As an international, one should book a flight to Jordan, expecting at least two days of exploration in the Rose City, which can take a lot of hiking, wandering and exploration if the tourist so wishes. Doing the long trips and the hiking where possible, is very worth it though, as when one approaches the city, the beautiful carvings and natural rock formations can be observed leading to the many impressive structures within.

Petra, contrary to popular belief, is a very practical site to visit. One should first buy a visitors ticket in the nearby town “Mora Mora”, which costs around 90 Jordanian Dinars (a pretty hefty, but worth-it fee) and head to Petra. There, one can book high quality hostels that even serve breakfast and are walking distance from the main attraction of the site.

As for Jordan itself, a trip there is not complete without at least a whole day in Petra, but there are a lot of other attractions and things to do that will amaze the most demanding of travelers.

The Wadi Rum desert is another ecotouristic attraction where one can see the wonders of the desert and check out the amazing rock formations and the other landscape wonders that the place has to offer. You can even hire a professional to help you ride a camel and really live an immersive experience.

Another great attraction that people often don’t relate to Jordan is the Dead Sea, this attraction is a great contrast to a rough day of walking around in Petra. Due to the heavy minerals, mainly salt, that are present in the water, one can lay on their back and float in the calm waters without any effort. Tourists often rub the mud from the place over their bodies, which exfoliates the skin and makes for an excellent natural spa day.

Wednesday Wonders – Petra (Rose City), Jordan

With all of the above, it is clear that Jordan has a lot of amazing attractions, excellent food and a very developed tourist-oriented industry that is guaranteed to make your stay a great experience, however short or long you decide to make it.

Let me know if you have already visited Petra before, your experience is valuable to enrich my Wednesday Wonders blog posts, and if you haven’t, through some research and planning you can book an affordable flight to Jordan and visit all of the amazing attractions in this post! Here are two guidebooks to help get you started.

Until next time, WonderLesch.