Yiannis Logiotatides
Photography
Sandstone
One of the most beautiful creations on earth is the city of Petra in Jordan. A whole city, carved on sandstone rock, probably the oldest found so far (Cambrian and Ordovician), 450-550 million years old.
The rock is colorless quartz. However, in its structure it has trapped elements like silicon, calcium, iron, aluminum, magnesium and smaller quantities of sodium (Na), lithium etc. So the prevailing colors are brown from the iron, yellow from the sodium and iron, pink from the sodium and lithium, etc. From the special distribution of these elements in the quartz, it draws its color distinction which makes it very beautiful and unique.
The rock with these exceptional colors is covered by a thin layer of sodium carbonate (salt) coming from rain water and the dessert dust; this, however, is not very durable and breaks easily.
The main reason for this photography, in addition to the overall interest of the area, is the exceptionally beautiful colors on the rock fringes which require very careful observation in order to locate them.
Hence the purpose of this presentation is mainly to show off the special characteristics of the wealth of color and its origin rather than the City of Petra itself.
The City of Petra was first found in 1812 by Johann Barckhardt but the first excavations began in 1900. UNESCO has included it in the New Seven Wonders of the World and has declared it a Monument of World Heritage.