Sheikh Ibrahim and the Rose-Red City: How Burckhardt Reached Petra in 1812

A Swiss traveller with an Arabic name

Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was born in Switzerland in 1784. As a young man he was hired by an association in London to explore Africa, and he prepared for the journey with great care. He spent years in Syria learning Arabic, studying the Quran and Islamic law, and living among the people he met. He took the name Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Abdallah and became fluent enough to be accepted as a learned traveller. In 1812 he set out from Damascus to travel south towards Cairo, following the old routes east of the Jordan Valley. Along the way, villagers told him about remarkable antiquities hidden in a valley called Wadi Musa. His curiosity was immediately awakened.

The goat and the guide

Burckhardt knew that a stranger asking openly about ruins would raise suspicion. Many people in the region believed that foreigners came looking for buried treasure. So he used a reason that everyone would respect: he explained that he had made a vow to sacrifice a goat at the tomb of the Prophet Aaron on the mountain above the valley. Such a vow was a familiar act of devotion, and no one would question it.

A local guide agreed to lead him. Together they walked through the Siq, past the Treasury, the theatre and the great buildings of the city centre. Burckhardt looked at everything with growing excitement, but he could not stop to measure or draw. When his guide began to grow suspicious of his interest, he made his sacrifice at the foot of the mountain and continued his journey. His visit lasted only part of a day.

A city that was never truly lost

Burckhardt wrote that he believed these ruins were the ancient city of Petra, known from Greek and Roman writers. He died in Cairo in 1817, and his account was published in 1822. Soon afterwards, artists and travellers began to arrive, and in 1839 the Scottish painter David Roberts made the famous images that carried Petra's beauty to readers across Europe.

It is important to remember that Petra was never lost to the people who lived around it. Bedouin families grazed their animals in its valleys, used its caves and knew every path through its mountains. The word rediscovery describes the moment Petra re-entered European books, and that moment depended entirely on the knowledge and guidance of a local man. Burckhardt himself never claimed otherwise.

Following in his footsteps

You can trace Burckhardt's route by walking from the visitor centre through the Siq to the Treasury, then continuing along the main valley past the Street of Facades and the theatre to the colonnaded street. Try to imagine seeing it all for the first time, without maps or photographs, while hiding your excitement from your companion. Today, Bedouin guides from the Petra area still lead visitors along the trails their families have known for generations. Walking with them is the best way to understand that the story of Petra's rediscovery is also a story of local knowledge and hospitality.

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