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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, April 15, 2007

Petra takes you on a journey back in time

By Chris Oliver
Advertiser Staff Writer

A camel waits outside The Treasury, or Al-Khazneh, the most impressive building in Petra, Jordan.

NADER DAOUD | Associated Press

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SEVEN-WONDER FINALIST

Petra, Jordan, is among the 21 finalists in the New 7 Wonders campaign organized by Swiss filmmaker Bernard Weber. The winners will be announced on July 7 and recognized as monuments unique within their culture and country. More than 25 million people have already voted. View the finalists and vote your choice at www.new7wonders.com.

—Chris Oliver

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A muse block and a mask in exhibit "Petra: Lost City of Stone" at the American Museum of Natural History.

JONATHAN FICKIES | Gannett News Service

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The city of Petra is known for the tomb and temple facades that its Nabataean Arab inhabitants carved into the soft sandstone about 2,000 years ago.

JEFF FRANKO | Gannett News Service

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Nancy Peacock with Bedouin children and crafts at the Monastery above Petra.

Lono Lyman

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Sometime during her first trip to Cairo, Egypt, 30 years ago, Nancy Peacock fell in love with the flavors of the Middle East.

The trip was an entree, the first of many by the Honolulu architect and design consultant to explore the culture, architecture, history and textiles of countries where the landscape is both magnificent and unpredictable.

Her host, an Egyptologist, told her about a mythical city, Petra, in Jordan, on the edge of the Arabian desert, hidden in mountains south of the Dead Sea, which had disappeared from maps for more than 1,000 years.

"She told me, 'There are places here that you must see to understand my part of the world.' " Peacock said. "In my mind, Petra became the lost city, magical, and one of the ultimate journeys to make."

Thought to be at least 3,000 years old, Petra is one of 21 finalists in the New 7 Wonders of the World campaign being decided in July. The city's architectural beauty survives from it being chiseled directly from the rose-colored sandstone mountains by nomadic Arabs known as Nabataeans. Temples, tombs, theaters and a highly sophisticated hydrology system are linked by trails and ancient caravan routes.

Peacock and husband Lono Lyman returned to Egypt in October and took a side trip to Petra to experience what she describes as "the fantastic situation of it all."

"The essence of Petra is one of a biblical experience ... with Arabs, camels and dust just as they must have appeared in the 1st century," Peacock said. "Jesus may even have traveled from Jerusalem to Cairo through this area. Because of the way you move through Petra — the city is inaccessible to modern transportation — the journey today is exactly the same as in ancient times."

HISTORY OF PETRA

  • "The rose red city half as old as time" dazzled

    Johann Burckhardt, the first European to see Petra, in 1812, who snuck into the city disguised as a Muslim pilgrim and shared his story with the world.

  • Petra means "stone" in Greek. Almost all of its buildings were carved out of solid rock walls. It has been called the most spectacular ancient city remaining in the modern world. Covering 400 square miles in the mountains south of the Dead Sea in Jordan, the city was built by the Nabataeans centuries before Christ and was later ruled by the Romans for two centuries.

  • The Nabataeans were masters of water technology, building sophisticated tunnels and chambers to carry drinking water into the city and prevent flash floods.

  • First a fortress city, Petra became a rich commercial center with control of key trade routes that brought the city its fortune and produced its architecture. After the Romans annexed Petra in 106, its position as a commercial hub slowly weakened.

  • The city may have housed 20,000 to 30,000 people during its heyday under the Romans, but by the end of the Byzantine Empire (ca. 700), the hydraulic system and once-gracious buildings were almost ruins.

  • For 1,000 years, Petra disappeared from most maps and became a legend.

  • In 1985, Petra was named a World Heritage Site.

    — New 7 Wonders

    IF YOU GO ...

    Nancy Peacock and Lono Lyman's 21-day tour to Egypt and Jordan with Boston-based Overseas Adventure Travel costs $3,000, which included airfare from New York, accommodation, land transport and some meals. www.oattravel.com. Their three-day side trip to Petra also was included. For independent travelers, Petra is several hours' drive from Jordan's capital, Amman, easily reached by car or bus.

    Petra is open dawn to about 6 p.m. Admission is $20 for a one-day pass; two days are recommended. Jordan Tourism Board, (202) 966-2664.

    Information: Jordan Tourism Board of North America, www.seejordan.org

    WHERE TO STAY

    Petra Marriott Hotel, marriott.com. Rates from $105.

    Moevenpick Resort Petra is a five-star hotel close to Petra; www.moevenpick-hotels.com/hotels/Petra_Resort; room rates begin at $140.

    TIPS

  • The Siq has little coffee houses and food, but take your own water.

  • Wear easy-to-wash clothes; desert sand covers all.

  • Walk in at dawn for the best experience.

  • Jordanian money (dinars) is essential to pay for camels, donkeys, food and services.

  • Go in November, because summer is too hot.

  • Be in shape for scrambling over rocks. Strong walking shoes are essential.

  • Don't miss the fresh fruit served with Greek yogurt and honey from vats.

  • Enjoy Jordanian (and Bedouin) hospitality; their kindness is unmatched.

    — Nancy Peacock

    Reach Chris Oliver at coliver@honoluluadvertiser.com.