Petra, the vividness of ruins – Egyptian tourism.

Located only a few hours’ walk and a small sea channel, the ancient city Petra of Jordan kingdom nests itself among countless number of enormous stacks.

Tourists wandering around Petra on the platform of hundred tombs carved directly into the rocks.

Generations have considered this place one of the seven new wonders of the world, the “city of red roses” because of the vivid colours of the rocks, although time has forgotten this place.

The golden era has ended.

Arriving at Petra: a lot of airlines are providing tourists with flights to Jordan such as: Turkish Airlines (from Ho Chi Minh city), Royal Jordanian, Qatar Airways, Emirates, EgyptAir (departing from Bangkok, Thailand). The buses from capital city Amnan to Petra last for 3 hours, and you may choose the label JETT which is quite famous in Jordan.

To enter the country, the Vietnamese is obliged to have a visa before arriving at the gate. Jordan currently does not have its Embassy in Vietnam, but you can send your profile by postal way to the Embassy of Jordan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to ask for a visa.

If the Egyptians are proud of their pyramids, the Jordans consider Petra as a symbol of their country. You will hear their question everywhere “have you been to Petra?”. Despite having absolutely no knowledge about Petra before visiting the country, tourists are very willing to pay 50 Jordan dinar (equal 75 USDs) for a day visiting this city.

Even in their wildest dreams, the Nabataean – those who dominated the area before the Roman imperialisation – would not imagine that one day Petra would be a dead city. But perhaps nobody would expect this hidden 2000-year-old city of the Nabataean to become one of the most famous tourist attraction in the Middle East.

In the 6th century B.C, the first residents of Nabataean tribe who has a wide perspective built up countless number of temples, mausoleums, opera houses and other construction on the same advanced water system inside layers of red stacks. In the heydays, the red-soil paths of Petra marked long lines of camels and horses carrying merchandise from the East.

The estimated population living in this ancient city is 20,000 people. However the only thing which can discompose this place is the footsteps of thousands of tourists a day.

The temples and mausoleums carved into the sides of these rock mountains proudly stand under the burning sunlight of the desert, but the elegant beauty cannot escape the invisible force of time.

Walking on the infertile red soil, nobody could imagine Petra as once a place full of green grass. The researchers assumed that the earthquakes, the fires and the fact that human beings are destroying the forests massively pushed the city to the verge of decadence. When the living conditions here had become harsh, and other trading centers appeared, Petra fell into the oblivion of rocks, sand and time.

The colourful marbling of rocks under a royal mausoleum.

The paragon of life.

These gigantic constructions brought up an infinite inspiration about numerous genius hands on the steep cliffs. The masterpieces they left to the world, the magnificent front of the temples, appear in a mysterious way from the giant rock mountains. People wwill be even more amazed at the fact that what they are observing is not all of the wonders. Until now, through a lot of tireless researches, the archaeologists still cannot excavate the rest 95 per cent of the primitive Petra.

This rock city used to locate on a large area where the width people got to observe was only one twentieth of the surface. The experienced tourists often make jokes on how dangerous it can be to get lost, but getting lost in Petra is like paradise itself. Breathtaken by the enigmatic attraction of the twisting colourful circles like carved on the rock, the act of enjoying the beauty of Petra needs more enthusiasm than chasing after time.

People are feeling regretful towards a golden era which is now backed into the former days. But no ups and downs of the time can take away the original gloriousness of Petra. Under the honeylike sunlight, the city shines very brightly in the shades of amber and rocks blended into the endless gold of the sand spreading to the far away horizon.

But the solitary and desertedness are still there, displaying in clearest view when the light gradually fades away and when Petra sink deep into its night sleep. On a winter midnight, a rain pouring down like a waterfall from 200-metre-tall cliffs made the art show with thousands of candles “Petra by night” a nightmare. The group of people walking in fear in the middle of darkness, the sound of music from the artists still resounds in the ear, inside the ancient temple Al Khazneh. Among the limitless space, the giant rock mountains cover the dark, embracing the humble shadows of the walking people in the dead city.