Petra — Ancient Nabateans built a place of wonder in the wilderness

Inside the Treasury is a rather plain design, and it does not contain the huge stone lions found by Indiana Jones. An urn on top of the monument is believed to have contained treasure, and clearly visible bullet holes remain today where Bedouins are said to have fired shots every time they passed by in an attempt to release the treasure. (Maybe that's why the government moved the Bedouins out.)

One story says the pharaohs hid treasure in the urn while chasing the Israelites. Moses' wandering in the wilderness was definitely in the area, and there are stories that the narrow entrance into the Siq kept Moses and his band out. But time frames don't match, although there were possibly earlier peoples before the Nabateans.

But more likely stories revolve around pirates hiding treasures in the urn. In any case, no treasure has ever been found. At least not from gunfire.

At any rate, it is impossible to prepare anyone for what they will see at Petra. My first inclination when entering the Siq was the similarity to canyon gorges at Lake Powell; then I thought that wasn't really appropriate. Yet Steven Spielberg filmed the first half hour of his movie in southern Utah when young Indy was growing up.

Geography and landscapes may be similar, but there is certainly no comparison between Utah Indian rock art and the art gallery created by the Nabateans. In fact, many scholars believe this treasure of the ancient world was created to impress, as opposed to Egyptian custom of building elaborate burial tombs. The purpose of both the Treasury and the Monastery remains a mystery.

Some think the Treasury and the Monastery were burial tombs, but so far there is just not enough evidence to verify that. There are ongoing excavations that may prove to be more conclusive.

Dimensions of both monuments are similar, but the Monastery reaches 45 meters (147.6 feet) in height versus the Treasury's 40 meters (131.2 feet). The greater fame of the Treasury can only be attributed to its easier access — being located just over a mile into the ancient city.

In our tour group of 50 people, only about half braved the rugged mountain hike to the Monastery. Fortunately for me, at the top I bought a cold Coke, which saved the day. Just as they say, you can buy a Coke anywhere in the world.