petra city

Petra, Jordan

Petra is the treasure of ancient world, hidden behind an almost
impenetrable barrier of rugged mountains, boasting incomparable scenes
that make it the most majestic and imposing ancient site still-standing
nowadays.. It has been said "perhaps there is nothing in the world that
resembles it", actually, for sure, there is nothing in the world that
resembles it. The rock-carved rose-red city of Petra is full of
mysterious charm, it was "designed to strike wonder into all who entered
it".

Petra is considered the most famous and gorgeous site in Jordan located
about 262 km south of Amman and 133 km north of Aqaba. It is the legacy
of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern
Jordan more than 2000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture,
massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels,
Petra is now a UNESCO world heritage site and one of The New 7 Wonders
of the World that enchants visitors from all corners of the globe.

The approach through a kilometer long, cool, and gloom chasm (or Siq) a
long narrow gorge whose steeply rising sides all but obliterate the sun,
provides a dramatic contrast with the magic to come. Suddenly the gorge
opens into a natural square dominated by Petra's most famous monument,
The Treasury (El-Khazneh), whose intricately carved facade glows in the
dazzling suNMore facades beckon the visitor on until the ancient city
gradually unfolds, one monument leading to the next for kilometer after
kilometer. The sheer size of the city and the quality of beautifully
carved facades is staggering and leads one to reflect on the creativity
and industry of the Nabataeans who made Petra their capital.

Petra
is always breathtaking, and never to be forgotten. It flourished for
over 400 years around the time of Rome and Christ (pbuh), until it was
occupied by the Roman legions of the Emperor Trajan in 106 AD.

The
Petra basin boasts over 800 individual monuments, including buildings,
tombs, baths, funerary halls, temples, arched gateways, and colonnaded
streets, that were mostly carved from the kaleidoscopic sandstone by the
technical and artistic genius of its inhabitants.

Petra sights
are at their best in early morning and late afternoon, when the sun
warms the multicolored stones, you can view the majesty of Petra as it
was seen first when discovered in 1812 after being lost by the 16th
century for almost 300 years!