As night fell, Liang En and his team returned to their campsite. Although there was a Petra light show at night, it wasn't suitable for them to visit during such a crowded time.
On their way back to the camp, they could faintly hear music and Kong Jimo's singing, accompanied by distant lights, which made the entire Gobi Desert feel even more desolate.
Because they were a bit tired from the previous day and the surroundings were very quiet, Liang En and his team slept comfortably that night and had plenty of rest, so they woke up very early the next morning.
After a simple clean-up, they headed straight to their target. Riding on horseback, Liang En and his companion ambled through the narrow, serene valley, where the former flow of water had carved the most beautiful curves on the stone walls.
At this moment, they realized the origin of the name "City of Roses": it wasn't that the entire city was filled with roses, but rather the sunlight created an eternal rose color on the stone walls.
Of course, the rocks around here were not only rose-colored but also light blue, orange, yellow, purple, and green, creating a vibrant scene.
Unlike most attractions that are immediately visible, upon arriving at this scenic spot, you can't see the main buildings of Petra. To enter Petra, one must slowly advance through a valley called the Siq.
The reason for slow progress is that this valley is exceptionally narrow, with the widest part only 7 meters and the narrowest part less than 2 meters. Judging by the rock marks, this valley was likely naturally formed by flood erosion.
However, when they emerged from the valley, the Kazneh Temple that appeared before them instantly made a huge impact, almost giving the feeling that the scenic spot ended there.
But this was not the case. After turning a small hill, the road opened up, with many buildings constructed against the mountains on both sides, still standing even after two thousand years.
Among these buildings were towering mausoleums, adjacent caves, classic amphitheaters, and remnants of temple ruins, like an ancient architecture exhibition, telling a two-thousand-year-old story.
Because the first day's itinerary was a general observation, Liang En and his team toured the entire city. During the tour, Liang En discovered that the city was Roman in style.
Only the tombs on the cliffs retained some local characteristics, most notably the stepped relief above the tomb entrances, which had special religious significance.
Apart from these tombs, they also visited the Deir Monastery, a famous filming location for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," where they saw many tourists from Europe and America.
Frankly speaking, the city's fame mainly comes from movies, TV shows, and games. For example, in China, there's a famous joke about how you can't farm without Petra.
So at the monastery entrance, there were posters of movies filmed in Petra like "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," "Indiana Jones 4," and "Transformers 2" for sale.
After a brief tour of the scenic spot, Liang En and his team quickly got into work mode the next day. They obtained staff badges from Ali and started their research.
Logically speaking, Petra isn't suitable for human habitation due to hot summers and cold winters, and all water for daily use must be sourced from a complex hydraulic system.
Yet, despite such harsh conditions, residents two thousand years ago chose to settle here and even built many magnificent structures, indicating some unique circumstances of the area.
At its peak, Petra was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom, home to tens of thousands of people. Later, it fell under Roman control, hence the noticeable Roman style in its architecture.
However, frequent earthquakes and the construction of other trade routes by the Romans led to its decline. Eventually, it became a secret known only to the local Bedouins.
It wasn't until 1812 that Petra was rediscovered by a British explorer who disguised himself as an Arab and persuaded the locals to show him the grand ruins, bringing Petra back into the light.
"So, the city's prosperity was due to trade routes passing through, and its decline was because of changes in these routes?" Joan summarized after Liang En's brief explanation.
"You could say that. After all, you'll find the surrounding environment couldn't possibly support so many residents. Once the trade routes were cut off and supplies couldn't be brought in, the city would immediately decline," Liang En nodded.
Indeed, Petra had a complete hydraulic system to meet the water needs of tens of thousands of people during its peak, which is why the "Barbarian" series of games depict farming in the desert.
But the water supply was only sufficient for living and production needs, far from enough for agriculture or livestock. Moreover, the surrounding desert and Gobi are not suitable for such activities.
In other words, this kingdom wasn't self-sufficient but heavily dependent on external resources. Once external resources were cut off, the city couldn't sustain itself.
Many cities in history were like this. Whether it was Chang'an or Luoyang in the East, or Rome in the West, they all faced similar issues. However, those places had better environments, so the cities only shrank in size instead of being completely abandoned like Petra.
While talking, they arrived at the famous Kazneh Temple, gazing at the building carved directly from the rock.
It is very reasonable for this building to be considered the representative structure of these ruins. Anyone who crosses the vast, desolate Gobi and then navigates the winding gorge to see this tall temple gradually appear before their eyes would be spiritually shocked.
Because it was carved directly from the cliff, the entire structure, like the surrounding mountains, displayed shades between pink and orange, with very soft tones.
Legend has it that treasures of the Nabataean kings were stored here. Some say an Egyptian Pharaoh hid his treasures here, while others say it is the tomb of a Nabataean king.
But in reality, it is not so. At least from the layout, this is indeed a temple. However, the deity worshipped here was only a god of the nomadic people.
This explains why the temple is empty. Although it follows the ancient Greek architectural style, the deity worshipped inside was not from the Greco-Roman cultural sphere.
And this empty temple might have originally enshrined the ancestors worshipped by the nomadic people, which is why it now appears to be empty.
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