Have you ever heard of Petra also known as the Red-Rose City? I discovered it three weeks ago during my trip to the Middle East. We flew to Amman, capital of the Hechemite Kingdom of Jordan. The next day we drove for four hours through fields, valleys and mountains. [Click on pictures to enlarge]Our bus dropped us at the entrance of what looked like a series of rocks and instruct
ed us to walk for about an hour or so, or ride a donkey!
ed us to walk for about an hour or so, or ride a donkey! 
The "so" turned out to be three hours under pouring rain. No cars or buses can go through the dusty pathes crossing the lost city.
After walking for an hour we began
Petra is a city carved in rocks of rich colors, violet, red, pink and blue, due to mierals such as copper, cobalt...
Petra was built two thousand years ago by the Nabataeans according to our guide--never heard of them. Later it was conquered by the Roman Empire.
They built a dam in the rocks.
A large earthquake destroyed a lot of the city in 360 AC. In 1812, a Swiss explorer dressed up as an arab and convinced his Bedouin guide to take him to the lost city. After that the city became known to the West.
A large earthquake destroyed a lot of the city in 360 AC. In 1812, a Swiss explorer dressed up as an arab and convinced his Bedouin guide to take him to the lost city. After that the city became known to the West.
Notice that this is NOT a building. It's just a facade. The rest of it is concealed INSIDE the rock.
The Treasury as this place is called, is intricately decorated with Corinthian capitals, decorative bands, and figures. It is crown by a funerary urn which according to local legend conceals a pharaoh's treasure. The treasury is believed to be the mausoleum of one of the Nabataean kings.
In spite of the rain, no one wanted to ride a camel! After three hours of walk under pouring rain and no place to hide from the pelleting, we finally arrived at a restaurant and were driven ten people in a SUV that could hardly fit five to our hotel. But the view of the Lost City was worth the trouble.
Mona Risk writes romantic suspense for Cerridwen Press: TO LOVE A HERO and FRENCH PERIL and medical romance in the genre of ER and Grey's Anatomy for The Wild Rose Press: Rx FOR TRUST and BABIES IN THE BARGAIN, winner of 2009 BEST contemporary romance at READERS FAVORITE and 2009 BEST ROMANCE NOVEL at Preditors & Editors Reader
s Poll. All books are available at Amazon.comwww.monarisk.com
If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat~
