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petra: general info
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PETRA
Calling Code: +962
Petra, the fabled "rose red city, half as old as time", is a well known ancient Nabataean city in the south of Jordan. Due to its breathtaking grandeur and fabulous ruins, Petra was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.
Petra was the impressive capital of the Nabataean kingdom from around the 6th century BC. The kingdom was absorbed into the Roman Empire in AD 106 and the Romans continued to expand the city. An important center for trade and commerce, Petra continued to flourish until a catastrophic earthquake destroyed buildings and crippled vital water management systems around AD 663. After Saladin's conquest of the Middle East in 1189, Petra was abandoned and the memory of it was lost to the West.
The ruins remained hidden to most of the world until the Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, disguised as an Arab scholar, infiltrated the Bedouin-occupied city in 1812. Burckhardt's accounts of his travels inspired other Western explorers and historians to discover the ancient city further. The most famous of these was David Roberts, a Scottish artist who created a number of accurate and detailed illustrations of the city in 1839.
The first real excavations of the site were in 1929 after the
forming of Trans-Jordan. Since that time, Petra has become by
far Jordan's largest tourist attraction, partially due to the
exposure by the Steven Spielberg movie, Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade, in 1989. Due to the fantastic engineering accomplishments
and well-preserved dimension of Petra, the archaeological site
was chosen in July 2007 as one of the New Seven Wonders of the
World.
If there's a place you've stayed or something you've done, but we haven't listed, review it for us!
Information here (unless otherwise specified) are licenced
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