Petra, Jordan
Since I was 12 years old, and saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, then later studied art in college, I knew I had to see Petra, Jordan at some point in my life. I finally saved enough money, and as an early birthday gift to myself, I flew off to have my Arabian adventure! I can not tell you how incredibly special it was!
If you aren't familiar with Petra, Jordan, it was constructed (actually, carved) around 300 BC. It was a major trading hub for it's residents, and unlike many ancient structures, was build by artists and engineers, not slaves.
Not only was the ancient city of Petra amazing, but so were many other extraordinary sites in this little country. The Middle East is overflowing with history and ancient artwork. It is simply incredible.
Though I would love to get started on some new work inspired by my trip, I'm surprisingly swamped with commissions right now, so it may be some time before I can create some new work inspired by this region. In the meantime, keep checking back, and visit my Facebook business page to see more photos: https://www.facebook.com/leperlilly?ref=bookmarks .
To get to Petra, you have to walk through a long, deep canyon. It is utterly magical.
Petra's Monestary.
Some of the oldest art is from this region of the planet. It started with ancient humans making tiny sculptures, then the Greeks came and built amazing cities. Then the Romans built on top of those. Then the Byzantines took over and built on top, again. Columns, sculptures, mosaics - all here for you to wander around in. I was ridiculously excited!
The colors of the deserts here were incredible. Can you see why they filmed 'The Martian' here?
The ancient city of Petra was simply mind-blowing.
Look at the rocks of this tomb! Not a bad final resting spot.