DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4996#0167
136 STAIRCASE TO EL DEIR.
the city and its surrounding rocks, I now, guided by Maganhein,
directed my steps from the " Kasr Phar'on " to the mouth of the
ravine leading up to " El Deir," which, as I have before remarked,
and as the bird's-eye view will explain, is situated among the top-
most crags of the mountain. So intricate is the route that, without
the assistance of a map and guide, it would be almost impossible to
find it; the earlier visitors to Petra, indeed, could not reach it; and yet
there can be no doubt that it was one of the most frequented locali-
ties of the city. No one but an actual spectator can well imagine the
singular romantic wildness of these narrow ravines, branching out
from the open space among the piles of rocks which hem them
in, and still more inconceivable is the ingenious manner in which
staircases are cut to give access to the.countless tombs or dwellings,
sometimes ranged in rows, often secluded singly in rocky niches,
and half overgrown with luxuriant vegetation. Of these flights
of steps, that which conducts to El Deir is, certainly, one of the
most remarkable works in the place ; and nothing can well surpass
the picturesque beauty of the ascent it affords to the upper region
of the mountain—the ravine, all but closing in many places, would
have been impracticable without its assistance : it follows its every
sinuosity ; at one moment we are hidden among romantic precipices,
darkened with large yew trees, starting from the fissures; then,
through openings in the cliffs, obtain peeps of the area of the city
below, and its girdle of tombs. The way becomes more and more
difficult, and passes along the edge of yawning chasms, the depths
of which cannot be seen from above, while the intricate wilder-
ness of rocky peaks, rising on every hand, affords a sublime spec-
tacle. The carved way is of unusual dimensions, generally about
six feet wide, sometimes cut on an inclined plane, and elsewhere
fashioned into steps : it is now much injured by the action of the
torrents, which occasionally pour down these ravines in a succession
of waterfalls. Labordo estimates the length of this staircase at more
than fifteen hundred feet, and I found it took me, at a moderate
pace, above half-an-hour to ascend it. At its summit is a narrow
plateau, partly artificial, at the head of two or more ravines, running
the city and its surrounding rocks, I now, guided by Maganhein,
directed my steps from the " Kasr Phar'on " to the mouth of the
ravine leading up to " El Deir," which, as I have before remarked,
and as the bird's-eye view will explain, is situated among the top-
most crags of the mountain. So intricate is the route that, without
the assistance of a map and guide, it would be almost impossible to
find it; the earlier visitors to Petra, indeed, could not reach it; and yet
there can be no doubt that it was one of the most frequented locali-
ties of the city. No one but an actual spectator can well imagine the
singular romantic wildness of these narrow ravines, branching out
from the open space among the piles of rocks which hem them
in, and still more inconceivable is the ingenious manner in which
staircases are cut to give access to the.countless tombs or dwellings,
sometimes ranged in rows, often secluded singly in rocky niches,
and half overgrown with luxuriant vegetation. Of these flights
of steps, that which conducts to El Deir is, certainly, one of the
most remarkable works in the place ; and nothing can well surpass
the picturesque beauty of the ascent it affords to the upper region
of the mountain—the ravine, all but closing in many places, would
have been impracticable without its assistance : it follows its every
sinuosity ; at one moment we are hidden among romantic precipices,
darkened with large yew trees, starting from the fissures; then,
through openings in the cliffs, obtain peeps of the area of the city
below, and its girdle of tombs. The way becomes more and more
difficult, and passes along the edge of yawning chasms, the depths
of which cannot be seen from above, while the intricate wilder-
ness of rocky peaks, rising on every hand, affords a sublime spec-
tacle. The carved way is of unusual dimensions, generally about
six feet wide, sometimes cut on an inclined plane, and elsewhere
fashioned into steps : it is now much injured by the action of the
torrents, which occasionally pour down these ravines in a succession
of waterfalls. Labordo estimates the length of this staircase at more
than fifteen hundred feet, and I found it took me, at a moderate
pace, above half-an-hour to ascend it. At its summit is a narrow
plateau, partly artificial, at the head of two or more ravines, running