Thursday Salute to Originals: Shaping A Stone City
When natural forms and human intervention merge in a delicate dance, the results can be incredibly moving. Take the ancient city of Petra, an expansive city in Jordan carved into rock faces that originated over twenty centuries ago.
The natural color and variation in the rock faces itself is stunning, but what makes this world wonder a true original is its sheer scale and innumerable hours spent in slowly crafting the unique formations.
Situated at the southwest corner of Jordan, Petra once functioned as an entire city entity, complete with a Roman style theater, streets, monasteries, and advanced commerce networks. The elaborate main façade, “the treasury”, originated as a tomb for a deceased king. While smaller scale structures and residential homes have been destroyed by natural processes over the years, the main tombs were engineered to last until the end of the time. Nearly five hundred of the tombs still stand today, “living up” to their intended use as they guard the treasured bodies within.
Petra – worthy of a salute for so many reasons. Today we admire your patient formation and timeless permanence.
Image credit: Amerune and Byron and Tamara via Flickr Creative Commons