Petra Jordan at Night

Written By: Gail Clifford | Published By: Weekend Notes | October 16, 2022

https://www.weekendnotes.com/petra-jordan-at-night/

Petra Jordan at Night

“Begin your Petra experience with the Petra Night Event. This event is a magical way to see part of the rock city by candlelight. The experience starts from the Petra Visitor Center by walking the entire Siq to the Treasury, lit with over 1,500 candles.” – Visit Jordan

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With the above explanation, we all looked forward to our introduction to Petra. The entrance, located across the street from the Petra Movenpick was easily accessible to meet in the lobby after dinner and walk across.

Pro Tip: If you are a photographer or media, request early entry at least 2 days in advance. Otherwise, you enter with everyone else at 8 pm.

With tickets, you are allowed to enter at 8 pm (otherwise you’re still standing in line). The entry point isn’t actually at the beginning of the Visitor’s Center, as it appears, just past the I ❤️ Petra sign near the entrance to the Petra Museum.

Walk through that entrance and you’ll find yourself in a large plaza. The Welcome Center is to the left and shops, including one for Indiana Jones, are in front of you and to the right. Walk past all that, down a few steps, and when you reach the Petra Guest House, don’t go up the stairs towards the café, but to the far left where you’ll feel like you’re accessing a service road.

That’s where you’ll find the entrance for the night activity.
Right away, the guard-turned-guide tells us he needs both our day and night tickets. We’re going tomorrow morning so don’t have our tickets yet. He’s a stickler for detail – he wants our guide’s telephone number, then calls him. So have both tickets ready to present.

It’s approaching 8 pm and the crowd is building. He finally allows entry.

The luminaries placed every few feet take more than an hour to set up. The tourism bureau reports more than 1500 are placed for each event, offered three nights a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday while we were in Jordan.

It’s important here to be mindful of the crowd. Each of us have different reasons for being there. Some are there for history. They’re rarely the ones jockeying for first position into the Siq. Those are people who want the best seats and photographers trying to get the unobstructed shot.

I’m here for the first time so, of course, I want to be able to see everything, but I know my primary goal is to be able to experience it sufficiently to determine if I think it’s something you might enjoy – or at least describe it well enough for you to be able to decide for yourself.

We’ll enter the site through the Siq, a narrow gorge guarding the city’s entrance. At some point, the high stone walls will open up, and the magnificent Treasury, definitely the county’s probably most photographed monument, comes into view. Take your own share of pictures, then we’ll continue into the city to discover the many caves and tombs, and other structures.”
– Visit Jordan

It’s over a mile of very rough walking to get through the Siq into the Treasury. It’s important to wear good walking shoes as the cool air can make the surface slippery.

Unfortunately, there are people who will, once you reach the opening to the Siq, “forget” the guide’s instructions to stay in ones and twos to get through this narrow area and jump ahead often causing others to lose their footing. One couple did this so severely to me, I was forced to turn my mobile phone’s flashlight on to avoid stepping on them.

The woman whirled on me, jumped at me, and yelled. After inviting her to back off and get her hands off me, I explained that if they insisted on standing in front of me, they needed to maintain the pace that I was keeping. She finally allowed me to pass in front of them and I wished them a pleasant evening. It was terribly unpleasant and did color the rest of the experience.

Walking through this slot canyon, it’s impossible to see at night how many things might be hidden in the shadows. One carving is well-lit towards the beginning of the journey, but we’re already wondering what prizes and surprises Petra has in store for us during the day.
Entering the plaza where the Treasury lives, through the final section of the slot canyon, only luminaries greet us, hundreds of them along the ground. There are small tent seats for the first fifty or so people that enter, I land a seat on the far-right side near where the photographers put up their tripods and begin taking test shots.