In 2009, I had the opportunity to visit Petra, Jordan. It lies south of Jerusalem and Amman, the capital of Jordan, and near the Red Sea. Made famous by the Harrison Ford movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” Petra, now a UNESCO World Heritage site was high on my list of “must see” places.

... Nestled in a remote desert canyon, Petra is made up of sandstone cliffs in varying shades of red, purple, and yellow. For this reason, Petra is often referred to as “the rose-red city.” It is a place between a city grown and constructed in spite of its surroundings and simultaneously in support of them.

The city of Petra was built directly into the surrounding sandstone using a technique called rock-cut architecture.Typically, craftsmen would start at the top of the space and then work downwards, excavating the solid rock before proceeding to the level below. Over 2000 monuments, statues, tombs and other structures were built this way.

This kingdom, established by the Nabateans, was once a buzzing center of commerce. Although dust has now settled over its canals and incredible water channel system, Petra still stands grand and is a testament to human ingenuity. The two thousand year old systems and structures that once allowed a city to integrate to its remote desert surroundings and thrive in spite of them still hold strong and is a reminder to all of what once was.

This body of work is my photographic journey through Petra in November of 2009. Because I am specially drawn to the black and white image, I decided to also show this work in a classic style, as slightly toned black and white images.These photographs explore the mystery that is Petra.

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