As part of our journey, we went to Petra, Jordan. This
experience was one of the most memorable experiences for me during our
pilgrimage. Petra is said to be one of the greatest archaeological treasures in
the world. It is filled with multicolored sandstone mountains in a secluded
site of steep rocky slopes, high cliffs, and soaring mountain tops. Amidst
these beautiful natural wonders is an ancient city carved into solid rock by
ancient an Arab tribe called the Nabataeans over 2200 years ago. Although the
Nabataean kingdom was powerful, they were eventually annexed to the Roman
Empire in AD 106.
As we made our way through the gate of Petra I was in
awe. The ancient main entrance is a long narrow gorge of magnificent beauty. It
is like walking through a narrow canyon with high rock walls. On the walls are
several bizarre looking geological formations. After entering the gate we were
shown many caves that decorated the rock walls. These caves had carved
entrances and were used by the Nabateans as tombs. The largest of the royal
tombs has a main chamber of 17 X 18.9 m in size. We also saw the tomb of
Sextius Florentinus who was the Roman governor of the province of Arabia. Among
other interesting Nabatean structures which were carved into the rock were a
high place of sacrifice where religious ceremonies took place honoring
Nabataean gods, an ancient theatre and a colonnaded street.
While we saw many amazing things at Petra, I would say
the most memorable experience was my climb to the Ad-Dier Monastery and the
rain storm we encountered on the way down. The Ad-Deir Monastery is a large
structure up a mountain that was used by the Nabataeans as a either a tomb or
temple, or possibly both. It was later used as a
church in the Byzantine era. In order to see the structure we had to climb a
flight of 800 stairs up a mountain. It looked like it was going to rain and it
was a very cold day. Some of the other seminarians decided to go. Others
decided not to. I debated whether I should make the pilgrimage up the mountain,
but decided to go. It was an amazing experience. I went alone but met some of
the other seminarians at the top. On the way up I somehow got lost from the
stairs that were carved out of the rock. At one point I heard a voice yelling
to me, telling me which way to go. I would later find out that this person was
a Bedouin, a person who was born and raised in the caves of the area. I spoke
to this person and had tea with a Bedouin family. I soon learned that several
Bedouin families live among the caves of the area.
After getting to the top of the mountain and seeing
the monastery, the rain began to come down. The other seminarians and I made
our way down the mountain as fast as we could, but we soon were caught in a
massive rain storm. We had about three miles to hike back to the bus. As I made
my way through the canyon I got soaked. The narrow way that we had to walk was
filling with water, looking like a river! Waterfalls were forming on the sides
of the high rock walls and pouring into the canyon. The wind was soaring through
the canyon. It was so cold that my brain felt numb. When I finally got back to
the bus with my seminarian brothers, I was very relieved. I was cold and
soaked, but I was on my way back to the warm place where we were staying.
Although our visit to Petra was not explicitly
religious, it is an event that I will always remember. It was an adventure of
high magnitude that taught me new things about our mysterious world. Life is
filled with so much natural beauty, magnificent history, and amazing cultures.
May we each come to learn more about our world and be open to the many
adventures we encounter.
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