What did Petra look like in the past?

The busy city was bustling with life, full of lush gardens, ornate houses, and markets loaded with exotic goods from India, Arabia, and Egypt. The story of Petra begins with a group of Arabian nomads called the Nabataeans (pronounced Nab-a-tee-ans).



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Once Rome formally took possession of Petra in A.D. 106, its importance in international trade began to wane. The decay of the city continued, aided by earthquakes and the rise in importance of sea trade routes, and Petra reached its nadir near the close of the Byzantine Empire's rule, around A.D. 700.

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In its heyday, which began in the first century B.C. and lasted for about 400 years, Petra was one of the world's wealthiest, most eclectic and most remarkable cities. That was when the Nabatean people carved the most impressive of their monumental structures directly into the soft red stone.

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At its peak, 2,000 years ago, Petra was home to as many as 30,000 people, full of temples, theaters, gardens, tombs, villas, Roman baths, and the camel caravans and marketplace bustle befitting the center of an ancient crossroads between east and west.

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Now, however, archaeologists are discovering that ancient Petra was a sprawling city of lush gardens and pleasant fountains, enormous temples and luxurious Roman-style villas.

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In A.D. 363, Petra suffered another blow when a massive earthquake destroyed many of the city's buildings and its water-supply system. This natural disaster marked a turning point for the Nabataeans. By A.D. 700, only a few people lived in and around Petra. Over time, the city was lost to the outside world.

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Petra, ancient city, centre of an Arab kingdom in Hellenistic and Roman times, the ruins of which are in southwest Jordan.

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Here's a list of 22 facts you might not know about this beautiful historical city in southern Jordan.
  • Petra is popularly called The Lost City. ...
  • Petra is also known as the Rose City. ...
  • Petra is one of the oldest cities in the world. ...
  • Petra means rocks. ...
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site. ...
  • Petra is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.


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The facades of the tombs in Petra are commonly rendered in Hellenistic style, reflecting the number of diverse cultures which the Nabataens traded, all of which were in turn influenced by Greek culture. Most of these tombs contain small burials niches carved into the stone.

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The spectacular sandstone city of Petra was built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabataeans, who carved palaces, temples, tombs, storerooms and stables from the soft stone cliffs.

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While the actual word Petra isn't used in the Qur'an. The Qur'an uses terms like Becca, mother of all cities, and even Mecca all refer to the city of Petra in Jordan.

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Trade routes were shifting north or toward the sea. In A.D. 363, Petra suffered another blow when a massive earthquake destroyed many of the city's buildings and its water-supply system. This natural disaster marked a turning point for the Nabataeans. By A.D. 700, only a few people lived in and around Petra.

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Petra is said to contain 800 carved tombs, but 80 percent of the original carvings are thought to be lost. Today only about 15 percent of the city has been uncovered, and the vast majority still lays hidden and untouched.

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The Nabateans carved Petra out of sandstone, a soft rock that's easily damaged by wind, rain, earthquakes and flash floods.

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According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where Moses' brother, Aaron, is buried, at Mount Hor, known today as Jabal Haroun or Mount Aaron. The Wadi Musa or Wadi of Moses is the Arab name for the narrow valley at the head of which Petra is sited.

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While you are not allowed to stay overnight unaccompanied in Petra, you can book a traditional Bedouin cave stay. Most hosts offer the full traditional experience, including dinner cooked over an open fire, the option of sleeping under the stars, as well as transportation back to the park entrance in the morning.

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Petra Today Then, in 1812, the unique ruins of Petra were “discovered” by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. He described the ruins of the once-great city in chronicles of his travels. With the western world now aware of their existence, they soon attracted the interest of architects and scholars, among others.

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