I have found Hyperbole-Man's nemesis. It is the rose city of Petra,
carved for eternity into the lurid sandstone mountains standing guard
below Wadi Musa in southern Jordan.
i had a bag of cliches, but it spontaneously combusted when i tried to
describe this place. my metaphors morphed into dust. likewise the
similes. on entering the site, Fedora and Bullwhip at the ready, my
camera had a sudden case of stage fright and a huge glob of saliva
dribbled down my chin. my legs went a little jelly. i giggled. i
know it's rude to stare, but hot damn i could not take my eyes off
her. take an penchant for climbing and scrambling over rocks and
cliffs and mountainous debris, add a liberal dusting of fascinating
history, and carve it all into 30-40 metre facades wedged amongst the
most lurid sandstone cliffs you haven't laid eyes on. now you're
getting the hang of this. i have a nagging itch to upload pages of
verbose hyperbole, heavily laden with tautologies, but since
Hyperbole-man was not up to the challenge, neither am I. you'll just
have to take my word on this one, and meet me for a cup of tea to ogle
at the photos, and wipe the saliva from my chin. bring lots of
kleenex.
owing its existence to the Nabataeans who moved into the valley floor
after the Edomites left the surrounding hills for the Palestinian
lands that were left deserted following its sacking by the
Babylonians, Petra sucked its wealth from a fertile positioning at the
crossroads of the ancient trade routes. Alas, Rome couldn't deal with
a competitor this rich, growing richer and thus potentially powerful,
so it did what any good conglomerate bent on global domination would
do, it changed the rules. a diversion of the land-based trade routes
further north, coupled with the fortuitous discovery of the 'trade
winds' and the diminution of Pagan religions to which trade in
Frankincense and Myrrh were so important eventually led Petra to fall
into Roman hands without a fight around 106 A.D. corporate takeovers.
it seems some things never change. The marvel of Petra was certainly
carved that way.
hugs and love from Jordan.
joe
