Sunday, 15 March 2009

For IF it is 'Legendary' and for SSS it is 'Half As Old As Time'



~ LEGENDARY ~





I’m sure there are many men out there who would love their own particular woman to have the legendary skills of subservience and erudition that a geisha of the highest calibre will attain after her maiko training!


~ A ROSE-RED CITY HALF AS OLD AS TIME ~


Guy and I spent Christmas in Egypt a couple of years ago and after much snorkelling and diving and windsurfing, we decided we probably needed a cerebral boost so we hitched a ride across the Gulf of Acaba on a fishing boat and went to Jordan. Our goal was to see the fabled city of Petra.

Although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this incredible metropolis. It truly has to be seen to be believed. Completely hidden by mountainous cliffs of rust coloured sandstone, it is a vast city carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled there more than 2000 years ago. Petra became an important crossroads for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. After the 14th century AD the city was lost to the western world and was rediscovered in 1812 by the Swiss traveller, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, who tricked his way into the fiercely guarded site by pretending to be an Arab from India wishing to make a sacrifice at the tomb of the Prophet Aaron.

To reach the fabled rose-red city, you have to walk through a narrow kilometre long gorge, flanked on either side by soaring cliffs. Just walking through the Siq, as the gorge is called, is an experience in itself - the colours and rock formations are absolutely breath-taking as you make your way past the contorted strata of different-coloured whorls and waves.





As you reach the end of the Siq, the rocky passage opens just a little and there, like a rose coloured illusion, you catch your first glimpse of Al-Khazeneh, the Treasury.





Little by little more of the building comes into view and slowly the massive, dusky pink façade reveals itself.




Hewn out of the pink rock, it towers above you in all its intricately carved glory. It is an awe-inspiring experience and an encounter which left us reeling in astounded wonderment.




**Tracy at Hey Harriet is the leading light of Shadow Shot Sunday. Pop over to her wonderful blog to see her stunning photographs and those of other ‘shadow shooters’ from around the world.**

39 comments:

Rosaria Williams said...

Wonderful sights; glorious discovery. Thank you, Tessa for this field trip, a place to reconnect with history and understand the crossroads we still have to undertake to connect with the rest of the human race.

Irene said...

Your painting of the Geisha is wonderful. I'm afraid I am not that subservient, though.

Thank you for the fabulous trip to Petra. It really did suddenly appear out of that small gorge. What a wonder to behold. An amazing sight.

It never ceases to amaze me what men is capable of creating when he puts his mind to it. Determination is an awesome thing.

Dave King said...

That is one fabulous post. Amazing.

Lori ann said...

Oh this has been on my list for many years now, someday... thank you for telling us about Petra Tessa, it sounds like an amazing trip, you and Guy definetly take travel to a new level.
Love the geisha painting, it's fabulous!
xx lori

dianasfaria.com said...

thanks for the tour! awe inspiring indeed. there is nothing quite like the creativity of man.

PJ said...

What beautiful images. I think you live in a beautiful world. Thank you for sharing.

A Wild Thing said...

Amazing the articts history has left to us, you are lucky to have visited...just beautiful!

Debra Keirce said...

Is there anyplace you haven't been? Thanks for sharing!

Every Photo Tells A Story said...

First of all, your Geisha painting turned out beautifully, Tessa. And, yes, some men do like subservience. Well, good for them:)

Another fascinating journey you've taken us on. I think I would have been a bit intimidated having to walk through that narrow passage to get to the "fabled rose-red city," but it would have been well worth the discovery on the other side.

~Nancy

Renee said...

Wow Tessa.

What man can accomplish.

Doesn't it just blow your mind.

I love your picture of your geisha.

By the way, I love my two pictures too.

xoxoxo

Renee said...

I forgot to tell you that if I was the geisha as I am right now it would go like this.

'Yes Wahid, whatever you want Wahid, yes Wahid, yes Wahid, yes Wahid, oh fuck off.'

Love you. xoxoxo

Anonymous said...

Great vibrant colors! What an amazing trip!

Gai said...

beautifully painted artpiece.

Hey Harriet said...

Love your geisha girl illustration! I adore your use of colour in all of your pieces. And thanks so much for the wonderful tour with your shadow shots. What a magical journey! I wish that I could experience the trip for real, but your guide was the next best thing. That was fascinating and fun!

karen said...

thanks for the gorgeous visual and written tour of Petra... I had no idea that it was that amazing!

A Cuban In London said...

It's funny that I have heard very little about Petra so your stunning and informative column has whetted my appetite. The pictures, as usual, are amazing ( I love the shadow effect). Many thanks for another brilliant post.

Greetings from London.

Caroline said...

I love your Geisha illustration - beautiful colours. Loved the tour too - fab photos. Thanks for sharing. Will be back to read more of your posts!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post and superb pics of Petra. Yes, a must visit me thinks. Add to must visit places list.
Thanks for sharing.

Renee said...

Tessa you know what, there is something so magical about you.

Something......that I feel only I get. Crazy eh?

Love Renee

Sandi McBride said...

What a wonderful History and Geography lesson! Thanks so much for sharing it!
Sandi

Beth Kephart said...

You take us so far, Tessa. Always. I feel a great urge, just now, to take a journey—not just back through my memory, where all my journeys are, but somewhere new and tangible and rocked and lit.

Angela said...

Tessa, I can`t add more to what has been said, but just wanted to let you know I loved your post, too. And now get your bike and come to Usedom!

A Cuban In London said...

'I’m sure there are many men out there who would love their own particular woman to have the legendary skills of subservience and erudition that a geisha of the highest calibre will attain after her maiko training!'

I forgot to comment on this quote yesterday.

Count me out. One of the reasons why I have been married for more than eleven years is that I have a wife with whom I can communicate and with whom I relate at the same level. She is incredibly intelligent and smart. So to the author of the quote, not all men want a subservient woman, some of us appreciate beauty and talent.

Great post.

Greetings from London.

Miranda said...

oh WOW. Wow, wow, wow!

Exmoorjane said...

Oh oh oh, I sooooooooooooooooo want to go there.

Reya Mellicker said...

Wow, that is amazing. I would love to see this amazing place.

Love your painting. We're usually so frontal; love seeing a painting of the back of someone. Thank you.

Renee said...

Red it is.

xoxoxo

Polly said...

I wanted to see Petra ever since I watched Indiana Jones and Holly Grail :-) but seriously, your photos look stunning and I hope I'll be able to see Petra one day, it looks fantastic.

This is a beautiful picture of geisha, Japanese culture is so fascinating, I love reading about it and I find maiko/geiko training very interesting, especially that it still survives in modern Japan.

Beautiful post, thanks. Polly

James Parker said...

Petra has, for many years, been one of the wonders I've longed to visit. I may never get there, but your wondrous photos left me in awe. Thanks for sharing. And I'm delighted to have become follower number 100.
Drop by and visit any time. Coffee's on.

Sarah Laurence said...

What a colorful kimono and beautifully rendered! Nice vacation shots too.

bernthis said...

Me so does not in any way, shape or form come remotely close to "Geisha" material.

The photos? incredible. I remember when the taliban destroyed the Buddhist statues in Egypt. I still cannot believe it. What a huge loss

Zion Girl said...

Tessa, This is Breathtaking!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bella Sinclair said...

Oh my goodness, Tessa! Your geisha is incredible. I love all those rich colors in her kimono. And Petra?!! I could never imagine encountering something as magical as that. Utterly legendary and incredible!

Sheila Vaughan said...

Tessa, its fantastic to know you still have that strong spirit of adventure even with kids growing up (grown up?). Hitching lifts in fishing boats - just up my street! By the way, I could do with one of those geishas - have you got any email addresses?

Bee said...

I love the jewelled colours of the geisha's robe -- and it seems fitting that we cannot see her face.

As for your introduction to Petra - WOW. So stunning.

Tessa said...

Thank you, everyone, for joining me on that 'revisit' to Petra!

The W.O.W. factor! said...

Tessa, your pictures of Petra are gorgeous! I posted about it last fall. Our women's Farm club had a member who went there and she gave us a presentation of her visit there. I fell in love with it then! (Your pictures are better than hers were).
The place intrigues me to no end!
Thank you for sharing this!
XoXo
Barb

sallymandy said...

Gorgeous. I've always wanted to visit Petra, and now I want to even more. I wonder if it is heavily visited? Thanks for your narrative and photos.

You have a lovely blog; I found it via Lola's site.

sallymandy
behansmith@earthlink.net

adrienne trafford said...

the Geisha is beautiful - is that for sale??

about Petra: as Tina Fey says "I want to go there..."