Well, we had planned on exploring more of Petra today, but it was very hot with very little breeze and a lot more tourists, so we ended up just walking the length of the Siq and back. We did take a horse ride (included in the admission price) down to the entry of the Siq. This is a picture of the tunnel, taken from the bridge, that was built to divert water from the Siq in the event of flash floods. Before this was built there was such a flood and a group of French tourists were killed. When they were excavating to build the bridge and tunnel, they discovered that the Nabateans had already done that.
At the entrance to the Siq, Bruce posed with the guards. They had a demonstration of more of these soldiers when we were coming out.
You can see some carvings in the wall. The niches would have held images of their deities. As I mentioned the stone is mostly sandstone and has been carved into the most beautiful shapes by the elements. Here is a shot of such weathering.
Here is a shot of the Siq, you can see how narrow it can get. That is one of the carriages that will bring people in and out from the Visitor Center all the way down to the Treasury. There was a lot of carriage traffic today and in many places you have to stand to the side to let them pass.
Here is a shot of the channel with one of the covering blocks still in place.
And, as you can see, there is vegetation growing in the Siq.
Here is another beautiful example of the weathering. You can see both water channels in this shot.
And here is a close up of the clay pipe in the water channel.
We caught a glimpse of the Treasury through the end of the Siq and then we turned back.
On the way back up we stopped to visit with a ginger kitten who was quite a talker. She only seemed to shut up when she was getting attention from us.
She alternated between our two laps.
She was thin, but not starving, and I saw no evidence of ear mites or fleas. After spending some time with her we made our way back to the hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment