The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-07-28
PETRA

washington, D. C.. July H..
Though Turkey viii De dismembHre6
and pushed out Of Europe. the Otto.
man empire probably will continue In
control OF some Of the sacred shfines
and most precious history spots Of
ASIA" says a bulletin from the Ma.
itoinal Geographic society.
For example. there II the Rock City
!of Petra, known ~ the safe deposit Of
caravans en- route with precious warea
Ito Tyre and Sidon,--which also con-
ltains .Pharaoh's Treaaury.'"
The bulletin quotes from . c0na.
munication by franklin e. Hoskins
describing Petra - follows:
The Highlands east OF the Jordan
river are strewn with ruins marking
the rise and fall OF successive civilisa-
ttons-Semitic, Greek, Roman. Chris
tian, Mohammedan. and Crusader.
These ruins have been preserved for
the modern explorer by the tides Of
nomadic life. which have swept up
from the Arabian desert; but ct the
southern end Of this no-man's land.
deep in the mountains Of Edom. lies
one OF h strangest. most beautiful,
and most enchanting spots upon this
earth-the Rock City OF Petra Its
story carries us back to the dawn OF
human history.
I'm the days OF the Nabathsans,
Petra became the central point to
which the caravans from the interior
of Arabia, Persia. and India came
ties OF the East, and from which these
commodities were distributed through
Egypt. Palestine. Syria, and all the
countries bordering on he Mediter-
ranean. for even Tyre and Sidon de-
rived many OF their precious wAres
and dyes from Petra.
The Rock City wal always to these
regions and peoples what Rome was
to the Romans and Jerusalem to the
Jews. Horites, Edomites, NabatheAns,
and Romans, have all rejotcsd and
boosted in the possession OF this
unique stronghold Inc most remark
able city OF antiquity.
The entrance to the Rock City u
the most striking gateway to any city
ion our planet. 1t is a narrow rift or
defle, bisecting a mountain OF many
hued sandstone, winding through the
rock as though 1t was the most plaatic
of clay. This six. or dehle, 10 nearly
two miles long. Its general contour b
a wide senli-circular swing from the
right to the left. with innumerable
short bends. having sharp curves and
jcorners in its general ours
The width OF the six varies from
twelve feet at its narrowest point to
thirty-fve or forty feet at other places.
Where the gloomy walls actually over
hang the roadway and almost shut u
the blue ribbon OF sky, It seems mar.
rover. and perhaps at many points
above the stream the walls do come
closer than twelve feet. The heights
of the perpendicular l cliffs have
been estimated at from 200 to 1000
FA- tkS- tl.. AA-AAA H. AAt-
clear desert air are deceptive, but aft
err many test and observations we are
prepared to say that at places they
are almost sheer for 800 to 400 feet.
Seen at morning. at midday. Of 1t
midnight. h six. this matchle6s en-
trance to a hidden city. ID ~unQuestion-
ably one Of the great glories OF an
cient Petra. Along its cool. gloomy
gorge file he Of antiquity
from Damascus and the East, from
the desert. from Egypt and the heart
querors have all marveled at ito beau
ties and It's strangeness. Wealth un-
told went in and out Of It for centuries.
and now for over thirteen hundred
years 1t has been silent and deserted.
Carved in the face Of the clix. half
revealed, half concealed 10 hi Grow.
ing shadows, Ia n Of the largest,
most perfect, and most beautiful o
uments Of antiquity-PhAraoh's Treas
ury. Almost as perfect as the day e
came from beneath the sculptorfs
ichisel, fifteen hundred or two thous-
and years ago: colored with the nat.
ural hues of the brilliant sandstone,
which added an INDISPENSABLE element
to the architectural beauty; hanked and
surmounted by the cliffs. which had
been carved and tinted In turn by the
powers OF nature; approached by the
] mysterious deficit il almost over
in its effect"