Petra, Jordan
Petra, Jordan - Day 58 - Daily Content Challenge
Petra is a famous archaeological site in Jordan. It is thought to have been built around 312 BC and was rediscovered by a Swiss explorer in 1812. It was buried under layers of sand, and got the nickname, Lost City.
Petra is also called the "Red Rose City" because of the colour of the stone from which it is carved. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.
Petra was built by a tribe known as the Nabateans. They were very skilled at carving, plumbing, stone masonry, and trading.
Petra was the capital of the Nabataean kingdom that ruled much of modern-day Jordan from the third century BC until the first century AD. King Herod, who ordered all the male children two years old and under near Bethlehem to be killed at the time of Jesus’ birth, was a child of Petra.
Petra is a giant city of tombs, monuments, and other elaborate religious structures carved into the pink sandstone cliffs. Petra is home to roughly 800 tombs called the Royal Tombs. The only access to Petra is via a narrow canyon called Al Siq. At the end of the canyon one arrives at a 45 m-high temple Al Khazneh, called the Treasury. It was originally built as a mausoleum and crypt. You can’t go inside the Treasury. There is really nothing to see. It is just an empty chamber. The Nabataeans who carved the city of Petra into the cliffs were much more focused on the facade of the temples and tombs.
Several scenes from the Hollywood movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, were filmed in Petra.
I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to be in Petra on at least three different trips to Jordan. Definitely a must see if you ever get the chance.
