 | The giant red mountains and vast mausoleums of a departed race have nothing in common with modern civilization, and ask nothing of it except to be appreciated at their true value - as one of the greatest wonders ever wrought by Nature and Man.
Although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this amazing place. It has to be seen to be believed.
Petra the world wonder, is without doubt Jordan’s most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome.
 | | The Treasury or 'Al-Khazneh'. | Entrance to the city is through the Siq, a narrow gorge, over 1 kilometre in length, which is flanked on either side by soaring, 80 metres high cliffs. Just walking through the Siq is an experience in itself. The colours and formations of the rocks are dazzling. As you reach the end of the Siq you will catch your first glimpse of Al-Khazneh (Treasury).
This is an awe-inspiring experience. A massive façade, 30m wide and 43m high, carved out of the sheer, dusky pink, rock-face and dwarfing everything around it. It was carved in the early 1st century as the tomb of an important Nabataean king and represents the engineering genius of these ancient people.
 |  | Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat to protect you from the sun, and always carry plenty of drinking water. | |  |  | | The Ad-Deir Monastery, high above the site
of Petra. Well worth the climb. | The Treasury is just the first of the many wonders that make up Petra. You will need at least four or five days to really explore everything here. As you enter the Petra valley you will be overwhelmed by the natural beauty of this place and its outstanding architectural achievements. There are hundreds of elaborate rock-cut tombs with intricate carvings - unlike the houses, which were destroyed mostly by earthquakes, the tombs were carved to last throughout the afterlife and 500 have survived, empty but bewitching as you file past their dark openings. Here also is a massive Nabataean-built,  | | The place of the high sacrifice. | Roman-style theatre, which could seat 3,000 people. There are obelisks, temples, sacrificial altars and colonnaded streets, and high above, overlooking the valley, is the impressive Ad-Deir Monastery – a flight of 800 rock cut steps takes you there.
Within the site there are also two excellent museums; the Petra Archaeological Museum and the Petra Nabataean Museum both of which represent finds from excavations in the Petra region and an insight into Petra's colourful past.
A 13th century shrine, built by the Mameluk Sultan Al Nasir Mohammad to commemorate the death of Aaron, the brother of Moses, can be seen on top of Mount Aaron in the Sharah range.
Inside the site, several artisans from the town of Wadi Musa and a nearby Bedouin settlement have set up small stalls selling local handicrafts, such as pottery and Bedouin jewellery and bottles of striated multi-coloured sands from the area.
 | | Horse-drawn carriages are a great way to get around if you don't feel up to walking. | It is not permitted for motorized vehicles to enter the site. But if you don’t want to walk, you can hire a horse or a horse-drawn carriage to take you through the one kilometre Siq. For the elderly and/or handicapped, the Visitors' Centre, close to the entrance of the Siq, will issue a special permit (at an extra fee), for the carriage to go inside Petra to visit the main attractions. Once inside the site, you can hire a donkey, or for the more adventurous, a camel - both come with handlers and take designated routes throughout the site.
| | The best time to see Petra, especially if you’re planning to take photographs, is either early to mid-morning or late afternoon, when the angled sun highlights and enhances the amazing natural colours of the rocks. | | | Petra was first established sometime around the 6th century BC, by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and laid the foundations of a commercial empire that extended into Syria.  | | Rock striations inside some tombs. | Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to bring Petra under the control of their respective empires, Petra remained largely in Nabataean hands until around 100AD, when the Romans took over. It was still inhabited during the Byzantine period, when the former Roman empire moved its focus east to Constantinople, but declined in importance thereafter.
The Crusaders constructed a fort there in the 12th century, but soon withdrew, leaving Petra to the local people until the early 19th century, when it was rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
The Petra Marathon 2009
The petra marathon is a new magnificent race that takes place in the storied city of Petra in Jordan. This ancient city carved in the sandstone mountains is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was elected as one of the ''new 7 wonders of the world'' in 2007. The route of the Petra marathon starts by passing the incredible tombs, treasuries and monasteries carved into the mountainsides before it turns out of Petra and goes through the beautiful mountain scenery. Runners can look forward to sights that will blow their mind away and a challenging course through unique landscape.
Website : www.petra-marathon.com
Petra Archaeological Park
The Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) covers a 264 dunum (264,00 square meter) area within Wadi Musa, which is considered a tourism and archaeological site and a World Heritage Site registered on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1985. The area encompasses a breathtaking landscape of pink-hued rock mountains, the focus of which is the amazing ancient Nabataean city of Petra, which was carved into the rock more than 2,000 years ago.
Website : www.petrapark.com
Petra is a UNESCO world heritage site.
| Although most of what can be seen at Petra today was built by the Nabataeans, the area is known to have been inhabited from as early as 7,000 to 6,500 BC. Evidence of an early settlement from this period can still be seen today at Little Petra, just north of the main Petra site.
 By the Iron Age (1,200 to 539 BC), Petra was inhabited by the Edomites. They settled mainly on the hills around Petra rather than the actual site chosen by the Nabataeans. Although the Edomites were not proficient at stone masonry, they excelled at making pottery and it seems they passed this craft on to the Nabataeans.
The Nabataeans were a nomadic Arab people from Arabia who began to arrive and slowly settle in Petra at the end of the 6th century BC. It seems their arrival at Petra was unplanned, as their original intent was to migrate to southern Palestine. No doubt they found this place attractive with its plentiful supply of water, defensive canyon walls and the friendly Edomites, with whom it seems they had a peaceful coexistence.
By the 2nd century BC, Petra had become a huge city encompassing around 10 kms, and was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom.
 | | A waterway carved into the wall runs the entire length of the Siq. | Primarily, the Nabataeans were farmers. They cultivated vines and olive trees and bred camels, sheep, goats and horses. They were skilled at water management and built a complex network of channels and cisterns to bring water from a plentiful source at Ain Musa several kilometres away, to the centre of the city. But their main wealth came from the fact that Petra was an important hub for the lucrative trade routes that linked China in the east with Rome in the west. Caravans laden with incense, silks and spices and other exotic goods, would rest at Petra, which offered a plentiful supply of water and protection from marauders. In return for their hospitality, the Nabataeans imposed a tax on all goods which passed through the city and grew wealthy from the proceeds.
The Nabataeans were a literate people who spoke a dialect of Aramaic, the language of biblical times, and samples of their beautiful calligraphy can be seen carved into the rock face at Petra.
Apart from their outstanding architectural achievements, the Nabataeans were famous for their skills at making pottery, believed to have been handed down to them from the Edomites. A recently excavated kiln discovered at Wadi Musa, indicates that Petra was a regional centre for pottery production up until the late 3rd century AD, after which it fell into decline.
 | | The Theatre in Petra, originally built by the Nabataeans, seats up to 3,000 people. | In 64 BC, the Romans arrived and established a Roman province in Syria. They formed the Decapolis League of ten city states, which forestalled any further expansion by the Nabataeans. In 106 AD, they annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, making it part of the Roman Province of Arabia. Petra flourished under Roman rule and many Roman-style amendments were made to the city, including the enlargement of the Theatre, paving of the Colonnaded Street, and a triumphal arch was built over the Siq. When the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, visited the site in 131 AD, he named it after himself, Hadriane Petra.
The Romans took control of the lucrative trade routes and diverted them away from Petra. It was the beginning of the end for the Nabataeans, whose wealth and power gradually fell into decline.
 | | Mosaic in the Red Church. | Evidence of the Nabataeans at Petra was dwindling and when Christianity spread across the Byzantine Empire, Petra became the seat of a bishopric and a monument was converted to a church, which is the Urn Tomb . Recent excavations have exposed three churches, one of them is paved with color mosaics and new ones were built.
In 661 AD the Muslim Umayyad dynasty established its capital in Damascus, Syria and Petra found itself isolated from the seat of power. This, combined with a series of strong earthquakes, marked the end of this once mighty city.
In the 12th century AD, the crusaders built an outpost at Petra, for their large castle at Shobak, 30 kilometres away.
Although there is some evidence that the place was, once again, used as a stopping place for caravans in the 13th to 15th centuries, it was eventually abandoned and became a place inhabited – and fiercely guarded - by the local Bedouin. This once magnificent city was forgotten entirely by the western world until the Swiss traveller, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, disguised as an Arab, rediscovered it on the 22nd August, 1812.
Museums
The Petra Nabataean Museum
This museum was opened in 1994, with three main exhibitions halls.
The first hall introduces the history of Petra and the Nabataeans, and the geology of the Petra region, as well as special examples representing Neolithic food processing, Edomite pottery, Nabataean sculpture, and hydraulic engineering.
The second hall is dedicated to specific excavations, starting with the Neolithic village at Beida, then the Iron Age settlement at Tawilan, the Nabataean and Late Roman houses on az-Zanter, the Zurrabah pottery kilns dated to the late first century BC thought to the sixth century AD, the Nabataen Temple of the Winged Lions, the Qasr al-Bint Temple in the city center and finally the Petra Church Project. A special exhibit representing earthquakes, Nabataean trade and Petra in the medieval period can also be seen in this hall.
The third hall deals with various artifacts, such as jewellery, lamps, bronze statuettes, terracotta figurines, pottery, and coins, with special emphasis on the manufacturing processes.
Petra Archaeological Museum
 | | An intricately carved elephant head capital.
| During the time of Jesus and the Apostles, one of the East Mediterranean's greatest trading centres was located in the southern Jordan city of Petra, the extensive rock-cut capital of the Nabataean Kingdom.
Petra flourished during Nabataean rule from the 3rd century BC to the early 2nd century AD, when it was occupied by the Roman Emperor, Trajan. Petra seems to be mentioned in the Bible's Old Testament under several possible names, including Sela and Joktheel (2 Kings 14:7).
During the Exodus, Moses and the Israelites passed through the Petra area in Edom. Local tradition says that the spring at Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses), just outside Petra, is the place where Moses struck the rock and brought forth water (Numbers 20:10-11). The Bible says that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land but could only glimpse it from Mount Nebo because he struck the rock with his rod to bring forth water, instead of speaking to it, as God had commanded (Numbers 20:12-24).
Aaron, the brother of Moses and Miriam, who was called by God to be Moses' prophet, died in Jordan and was buried in Petra at Mount Hor, now called Jabal Harun in Arabic (Mount Aaron). A Byzantine church and later an Islamic shrine/tomb of Aaron were built on the summit of the mountain, which today attracts pilgrims from all over the world. Aaron was the first High Priest of the Bible and is remembered for the beautiful blessing that God commanded him to give people: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26).
Petra was almost certainly the last staging post of the three kings, who took frankincense, gold and myrrh to honour the baby Jesus in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12). The King Aretas, mentioned in Corinthians 11:32, was a Nabataean king who ruled Petra.
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)
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Fun & Adventure
The entire area around the site of Petra offers dramatic and varied landscapes. The canyons and high places are a maze of wind-sculptured rocks, tiny meandering tracks and secluded valleys, where the only sound is the tinkling of goat bells or the reedy notes of a shepherd’s flute. It is, in effect, an adventurer’s playground. This is a great place for walking, trekking, horse riding and off-road cycling.
Although some activities are not permitted within the site itself, there are plenty really great locations in the area. If you’ve explored all there is to see in Petra itself and you still have energy for more, head down the wadi to Little Petra. It may not be as quite as monumental as the main site but it was an important suburb of Petra and there is still much to see here.
Petra by Night
 | | Petra by Night. | To visit Petra during daylight is an awe-inspiring experience, to experience it at night by the light of 1,800 candles is truly an out-of-this-world experience! Walk through the Siq to the Khazneh following a candle-lit path and enjoy the haunting music of the Bedouin at the Treasury. Tours start at 8.30pm and finish at 10.00pm every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tickets can be purchased from the Petra Site Office at the entrance to the site. Allow yourself plenty of time to walk through the Siq, you don't want to miss the show.
Trekking
 | | Aaron's Tomb, the highest point in Petra. | If you have the time and the energy to face the inclination, climb up to the shrine of the prophet Aaron, 1,350 metres (4,429 ft.) above sea level. It is the highest point in Petra and you will be rewarded by spectacular views of the entire region. The climb takes about 2-3 hours, so be sure to wear a good pair of walking shoes and take plenty of water.
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| The old archaeological museum at Petra is located in an ancient Nabataean cave on the slope of al-Habis. The museum was opened in 1963 and it is composed of one main hall and two side rooms. The collection represent finds from excavations in the Petra region, dating from the Edomite, Nabataean, Roman and Byzantine periods, with special emphasis on architectural decorative elements and stone sculpture. The exhibits in this museum are presently in the process of rearrangement after the opening of the Petra Nabataean Museum.
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A close second to Petra on the list of favourite destinations in Jordan, the ancient city of Jerash boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years.
