Sunday, January 23, 2011

A Paradise of Rock

Petra Sandstone
Coming home from Sri Lanka, our plane stopped in Amman, Jordan - a country we've never been to before.  We decided to take advantage of the opportunity to visit a place I've always wanted to see: the ancient rock city of Petra.  Imagine an Arizona slot canyon filled with buildings carved into the rock two thousand years ago, and you begin to get the idea. I shot a lot of pictures of the ruins (this is a World Heritage Site, after all) but I was also enchanted by the rock itself. It was red sandstone, similar to that which you see in the American southwest, but with bands of mineral deposits that created stunning swirls and patterns. In short, I had a wonderful time shooting patterns, arches, caves, and - oh, yeah - some masterpieces of Nabataean Architecture.  All in all, a nice way to spend the day.

Tomorrow we continue the long journey home.

The Treasury from The Siq, Petra

2 comments:

  1. The beautiful patterns on the inside look beautiful on the first one and the second one is a work of art.

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  2. To be honest, I wish I had spent more time at that first location - there were more pictures hidden inside. They will have to wait for another trip, or another photographer

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