The Petra By Night experience

There’s something about the desert at night that awakens the senses. Perhaps it’s the eerie stillness and silence that haunts your footsteps. Or maybe it’s the weight of the vastness above — of a billion stars, all bearing down at once. You feel the eyes of the ages upon you. You hear the hushed whispers of ancient civilisations, calling out from the distant mountains and canyons, begging for a bit of life.

I’ve never felt this more than when I visited Jordan’s Petra by Night. Just after dark, we took the ancient Bab Al-Siq trail from Wadi Musa. Our path into the great Siq Canyon was lined with lanterns, and in the dim light, we could just make out the shadowy shapes of the Obelisk Tomb and Djinn Blocks ahead of us. We stepped off the path for just a moment, and felt the darkness enshroud us. Stunned by the depth of the night, we took in the jagged outlines of the pyramidal tomb and the blanket of stars above, before leaping back into the safety of the candle light.

Entering the Siq canyon, the flickering candles revealed the red cliffs of the Madras and Khubtha mountains on either side. Then, as the canyon curved and opened up, there stood the legendary scene of the Treasury.

Lit up by hundreds of dancing lanterns and coloured torches, the Treasury glowed and shifted from varying shades of blue, orange and purple. At the base of the ancient temple, sat a Bedouin playing a traditional song on his stringed Rababa. The scene was nothing short of a dream.

As we marvelled at the Treasury, we could just make out the alien shapes of towers and obelisks on the path ahead. A vast city lay beyond the darkness. But we would have to wait for daylight to explore it.

Next up: Petra by day