Hello from Ottawa - Doubling Up On Antiquity at the Museum of Civilization

Today culture was on my mind. After enjoying twoexperienced many earthquakes, but a tremor in 363
interesting exhibits at the Canadian Museum ofAD hit the city particularly hard. Half the city was
Contemporary Photography, I made my way acrossdestroyed and the water system was disrupted.
the river to the City of Gatineau (formerly Hull) toWith the increase of ocean trade, the decline of
visit Canada's most popular museum: the Canadianland-based trade routes through this area had already
Museum of Civilization. This rewowned Canadianaffected the city earlier and it seems that Petra was
institution is known for its unique architecture and isunable to muster the resources to rebuild itself. In
host to the Canadian Postal Museum, the Canadianthe early 7th century, Muslim Arabs arrived in Petra
Children's Museum, an IMAX Theatre (which I wasfrom the south. The transition to Islamic rule appears
going to visit later today) and a variety of specialto have been relatively peaceful in Southern Jordan.
exhibitions.By the seventh century Petra was finally abandoned
The Canadian Museum of Civilization has three majorand remained virtually lost to the outside world. It
galleries: the Grand Hall, which is the architecturalwas not until 1812 that a Swiss explorer, Johann
centerpiece of the museum, Canada Hall as well asBurckhard, rediscovered the city. Today, less than
the First People's Hall. The 112 x 15 m (365 ft x 50 ft)five percent of the city has been unearthed, so this
glass wall of the Great Hall features a magnificentancient city of stone still has many secrets to reveal.
view of Ottawa's Parliament Buildings and hosts theThe exhibit itself consists of many components,
world's largest collection of indoor totem poles.including artifacts, architectural detailing, jewellery,
My goal today was to see a special exhibition: avases and other objects. Some of the highlights of
traveling exhibition organized by the Cincinnati Artthe exhibition are a striking gravestone bearing the
Museum and the American Museum of Natural Historylikeness of a man's head, a recently discovered
under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Raniacolumn capital with elephant heads, a relief carving of
Al-Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.a standing eagle and a recently reassembled sculpted
Petra - Lost City of Stone is the most completegarland frieze from one of the city's main temples.
portrait ever assembled of the amazing and enigmatic19th century paintings, drawings and prints illustrate
city of Petra. This exhibit tells the story of athe city's rediscovery by Burckhard in 1812 and Petra
once-thriving metropolis at the crossroads of the- Crossroad of the Ancient World is an 8 minute film
ancient trade routes.that presents a brief cultural history of this city. It
Its inhabitants, the Nabateans, constructed aalso illustrates the Nabateans' unique rock-cutting
magnificent city in a harsh desert environment. Petraprocess as well as their water management and
only receives about 15 centimeters (6 inches) of rainstorage techniques.
a year. Ingenously its residents were able to controlThis historical exhibition is augmented by a photo
the water supply of the city by capturing andexhibit: The Bedouin of Petra is a collection of 25
collecting water from flash floods in more than 200colour photographs by award-winning photojournalist
underground cisterns which would then beVivian Ronay. The photos were taken at various
redistributed through the city through a system oftimes between 1986 and 2003 and document the life
clay pipes. This stored water was used during periodsof the Bedoul Bedouins, and their transition from a
of extended drought and the city even prosperedpastoral life to a lifestyle based on tourism. The
from the sale of the water. In effect the ancientBedoul had lived in tents and caves among the ruins
Nabateans had created an artificial oasis.of the ancient city until the Jordanian government
Originally the Nabateans were traveling merchants,became concerned about the city's preservation.
but they became even more prosperous once theyThey were then invited to move to a nearby village
settled down and started serving and taxing otherwhere modern housing and facilities would be
traveling merchants. Being located at the intersectionprovided. The majority of them moved from tents
of several caravan trade routes, the Nabateansand caves to conventional houses, giving up their old
integrated art and architecture from other cultures.life as herders and farmers to work in the tourism
Asian elephants, for example, were a popular symbolindustry. A fascinating look at an ancient people who
for strength, many carvings found show artistichave undergone an enormous change in lifestyle.
origins in the art and mythology of Ancient Greece.As if Petra wasn't fascinating enough, I decided to
Several centuries later, Byzantine Christian art wasadd another encounter with antiquity. I walked over
widely adopted.to the Museum's IMAX Theatre to see a special
Petra's surrounding natural environment is visiblypresentation: Greece - Secrets of the Past. This
stunning and geologically unique. A dark and narrowIMAX Theatre is the first of its kind in the world and
gorge called the Siq (the "shaft") cut into sandstoneactually combines two IMAX technologies. The size of
forms the eastern access to the city. In some placesthe vertical screen is 10 times the size of a
the Siq is only 3 to 4 metres wide and its end standsconventional movie screen and tilts into place to
the magnificent ruin of the Treasury (Al Khazneh), anconvey a multi-dimensional experience, as close as
absolutely stunning decorated façade hewn outpossible to actually being there.
of the natural stone. In total, Petra had 3000This realistic quality was definitely appreciated since
temples, tombs and dwellings and during its heydayone of the movie's opening sequences starts with a
the population was an estimated 20,000 people.flight over the Mediterranean and a stunning look
Originally these structures were covered with stuccodown on some of the Greek islands. In dramatic
and brightly painted, which must have been apictures I learned about the formation of the island
spectular view in this desert environment.of Santorini and its volcanic eruption: the most power
Despite the abundance of temples we actually knowexplosion in history.
relatively little about the religion of the Nabateans.Images of Athens and the Acropolis demonstrated
They apparently had a small number of Gods, withthat 2500 years ago Greece was indeed the cradle
Dushara being the most important male god, andof Western civilization. Art and architecture flourished
Al-Uzza representing the most important femalewhile science, philosophy and literature reached
deity.impressive heights. The camera follows in the
Petra celebrated its zenith between 200 B.C. and 200footsteps a team of archeologists and introduced the
A.D. when it was one of the major trading centersaudience to innovations in this scientific field.
linking the Silk Road and the spice routes thatGreece: Secrets of the Past is a MacGillivray Freeman
connected China, India and Arabia with buyingFilm produced by Alex G. Spanos in association with
consumers in Greece, Rome, Egypt and Syria. In 106the Canadian Museum of Civilization and Museum Film
A.D. Petra was annexed by the Roman EmperorNetwork with major funding assistance from the
Trajan. During the Byzantine period the city had itsNational Science Foundation. Incidentally Nia Vardalos
own bishop and later large Christian churches were(from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding") narrates the
built.feature.
Being located in a seismically unstable area, Petra had