Inside the Siq

Two men talking in the siq

(Note the steps going up the face on the right)

Horse and Buggy Inside the Siq

(Note the water trenches)

The Petra Crown Plaza was suggested by our friends Wayne and Natasha (he’s Canadian – She’s Russian) who had visited the hotel last year, as it is located within 100 meters directly outside the entrance to the Petra. We had driven over 1,000 miles the day before so Russ and I weren't up at the crack of dawn but the day was cooler than back in Saudi Arabia.

Thanks to Russ we rode horses down to the entrance of the siq (a natural gorge) and were awed by the colors and it's size. It is 1200 meters long and 10 feet to 30 feet wide and 300 feet high. It still has some of the existing pavement laid by the Nabateans and later the Romans. Also, down the sides are water control trenches dug in the 1st Century B.C. into each sidewall to channel water. The trenches supplemented a dam and cistern system used by the inhabitants to save water. The ancient Nabateans used the siq for a ceremonial entrance to the city.

Nowadays, saddle horses are used to go to the entrance of the siq, then horse and buggies are for going through the siq, then you can choose from a camel, donkey, or horse and buggy. We mostly walked all day but later in the day we took a donkey.