Travel-World Photography
Petra is a historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the color of the sandstone from which it is carved. Access to the city is through a famously picturesque 1.2-kilometre-long gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the Khazneh.
The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of their kingdom. he Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the incense trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub.
The trading business gained the Nabataeans considerable revenue and Petra became the focus of their wealth. Unlike their enemies, the Nabataeans were accustomed to living in the barren deserts and were able to repel attacks by taking advantage of the area's mountainous terrain.
Petra's population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants. They developed a complex system of cisterns, channels, and dams to collect and store rainwater, allowing them to thrive in the arid desert environment.
Coming out of the siq, the Treasury is right in front of you. It is dug out of the sandstone cliff and is 24 meters wide and 37 meters tall and references the architecture of Alexandria.
Another example of Hellenistic architecture is its Monastery, which stands at 45 meters (148 ft) tall and 50 meters (160 ft) wide; this is Petra's largest monument and is similarly carved into the rock face.
Later on, the Romans were there, and the came the Byzantine period. Thereafter came the Cusaders and then the Mameluks.
In 2007, Petra was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. Today, Petra is Jordan's most important tourist attraction, with more than 1 million visitors per year.
Note: The pictures in this folder are scanned from paper copies, printed after exposed in a pocket camera on color negative film. This the quality is quite poor, but the pictures still convey our experience at the place.
