Petra by night // In pictures

As soon as I announced I was going to Petra, the one thing everyone said I must do was see it at night. On three evenings a week, the ancient city is open to visitors in the evening when it’s lit by over 1800 candles. It’s a popular trip, with around 150 people on our tour. So we held back and let them rush off, and ended up with the pathway down almost to ourselves. A bright full moon lit the route down from the visitors centre to the Siq, into the darkness where the only light comes from the luminaries – candles in paper bags. It’s a challenge to capture how beautiful it was, especially without a tripod, but there are a few helpfully positioned benches and rocks to help you out. By the time we reached the Treasury the crowd were sat down on mats to drink tea and listen to Bedouin musicians. But the most magical part for me was the candlelit walk, so we snuck off early to have the route back all to ourselves again.

The details

Petra by night tours run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, starting from the main entrance gate at 8.30pm and finishing about 10.30pm. Tickets cost JD17 (approx £16) per person.

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