For who is God besides the LORD?
Psalm 18:31
And who is the Rock except our God?
The top tourist site in Jordan is Petra. That’s where we began our third day. Unfortunately we were only there until 1:00. You could easily spend the entire day there because it is so big and there are so many trails to wander on, stretching on and on for miles. Of course, even my short time there was full of long, arduous hikes. A full day would be even more exhausting! For those who don’t want to hike as much, the Bedouin are there with horses, donkeys, and camels to whisk you anywhere around the site – for a price.
Petra was the capital of Nabataea. It’s located fairly far south in an area that only gets a few inches of rain each year. The Nabataeans channeled this water down aqueducts to supply the city’s water needs. Obviously, this wasn’t an agricultural center. Instead, it was a center of trade with camel caravans coming from the desert.
The most famous image of Petra is what is known as the Treasury, which is a modern name for one of the many rock-cut tombs in Petra. It’s called the Treasury because of an urn at the top of the structure which was believed by the local Bedouin to contain treasure, so they shot at it to break it open. The Treasury is probably the best preserved tomb at Petra. All these tombs were cut out of the cliff faces rather than being built up.
The name Petra means “rock”, which is very appropriate to this site, as you can see…
