Have your very own Indiana Jones adventure by exploring this historical part of the world

Sydney Morning Herald

03-05-2025

This story is part of the May 4 edition of Sunday Life. See all 13 stories.
'Yallah!' my Bedouin guide yells while gesturing to the long rock-strewn path in front of us. Turning to face me, his striking kohl-lined eyes flashing in the sunlight, he repeats himself in English: 'We go.'
We've been hiking through this desert landscape for what seems like hours and have yet to encounter another soul. Red cliffs soar towards a cloudless blue sky and the only breaks in the surrounding sands are occasional acacia trees and spiky, pale green patches of scrub. Sweat gently trickles down my nape, and I pull my wide-brimmed hat down to shield my face from the harsh sun.
It's at this point that I see my first tomb — a cavernous hole cut into the sheer rock face. My heart skips a beat as I realise we have now reached Petra, the historic city in southern Jordan.
One of the New 7 Wonders of the World, this sprawling archaeological site in the Jordanian desert became world-famous after a starring role in the closing scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This is how much of the rest of the Western world, including me, got their first glimpse of this marvel, and I've yearned to see it ever since. Fast-forward 30 years and here I am, hiking to the Lost City.
Half-hewn into the red sandstone of the desert, the once thriving city is believed to have been established more than 5000 years ago as the capital of the Nabatean kingdom – an ancient civilisation that once ruled much of what is now Jordan. It flourished until Roman times, then declined and went largely undisturbed until its rediscovery in 1812. When Petra was declared one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007, it joined other big ticket luminaries such as India's Taj Mahal and Rome's Colosseum.
The two-storey facade is instantly recognisable to film buffs as the temple of the Holy Grail, where Harrison Ford and Sean Connery attempt to gain the cup of Christ.
When most people think of Petra, they think of its main landmark – the Treasury. The towering two-storey facade, with its Greek-inspired columns, is carved out of the sheer rock, and while your visitor experience will likely be sullied by selfie sticks and smartphone camera clicks, it's breathtaking nonetheless.
Also called Al-Khazneh, the two-storey facade is instantly recognisable to film buffs as the temple of the Holy Grail, where Harrison Ford and Sean Connery attempt to gain the cup of Christ in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 's climactic scenes. In reality, rather than being the home of the Holy Grail, the Treasury is a relatively small royal tomb.
But while this icon gets all the hype (and all the tourist traffic) in sprawling Petra, there's a lot more to see, including soaring temples, theatres, houses, baths, arched gateways, colonnaded streets and tombs – so many tombs (there are actually more than 800).