Petra
This Rose -Red city is the most famous attraction in Jordan. It was
the capital of Nabatean Arabs Kingdom, carved from the rock over 2000
years ago. Magical, powerful and unforgettable site. It can be entered
on foot, on horseback or by horse - drawn carriage. Nabateans
created Petra to be their fortress city. El Khazneh - The Treasury
- is one of the most elegant remains of antiquity in this impressive monument.
Located at the crossroads of the flourishing
overland caravan trade routes, Petra prospered as the capital of the Nabataean empire from 400 B.C. to A.D. 106. The Nabataeans engineered an impressive system of
pipes, tunnels, and channels that carried drinking water into the city and reduced the chance of flash floods.
The Romans annexed Petra in A.D. 106, and
its position as a commercial hub slowly
deteriorated. The Byzantines made the city the
seat of a bishopric in A.D. 379 before
earthquakes and an economic lull took their
toll. By the end of the Byzantine Empire (circa
A.D. 700), the hydraulic system and the once
dignified and gracious buildings in the center of
town had deteriorated to near ruins. In the centuries that followed, Petra
disappeared from most maps and was
known only through ancient lore. In 1812
Swiss traveler Johann Burckhardt stole into the
mythic city disguised as a Muslim trader and
told the world about what he found. Today most
of the Bedouin people who once lived in the
area of the ancient city have been relocated to
houses provided by the Jordanian government.
Efforts to protect Petra and its artifacts
continue even as tourism grows at a steady
pace and excavations uncover more of the long-lost city.
|
|
|