Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The Magnificent Siq

One of my favorite areas of Jordan was the Siq, a richly-hued, natural sandstone gorge that leads to the ancient city of Petra. If you could compress the Grand Canyon into a linear kilometer, I suspect you’d get something much like the Siq. Water channels running along each side of the canyon once carried fresh spring water to the center of town while a dam and diversionary tunnel kept flash floods from entering the city. In its day, Petra was an important trading center and the Siq held a constant procession of camel caravans bringing goods and traders. Geology was one of my favorite college classes and I find these gorgeous rocks endlessly fascinating. So imagine yourself as Indiana Jones, if you’d like, as we pass through the patterns, shapes, colors and poetry of the truly magnificent Siq.













A fellow traveler through the Siq:



The fresh water channels:

















The famous peek through the Siq of Petra's Treasury:


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