Petra

Lore & Background

The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and was settled by the Nabataeans, a nomadic Arab people, in the 4th century BC. Petra would later become the capital city of the Nabataean Kingdom in the second century BC. The Nabataeans invested in Petra's proximity to the incense trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub. Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its Al-Khazneh structure, possibly the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV, was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants. Nabataea fell to the Romans in 106 AD, who annexed and renamed it Arabia Petraea. Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 destroyed many structures. In the Byzantine era, several Christian churches were built, but the city continued to decline and, by the early Islamic era, it was abandoned except for a handful of nomads. It remained unknown to the western world until 1812, when Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it.

In Their Own Story

The wind howled through the Siq, a narrow cleft in the earth where the walls rose hundreds of feet high, blocking out the sun. Water trickled silently through ancient channels etched into the stone, a ghostly reminder of the life that once pulsed here. A traveler stood at the end of the tunnel, breath catching as the light broke open to reveal Al-Khazneh, glowing in the afternoon sun like a jewel forged from fire and dust. It was silent now, save for the cry of a hawk circling above the empty theater, but in the stillness, one could almost hear the distant clatter of camel hooves and the murmur of merchants haggling over frankincense, echoing through the ages.

Reader's Guide

Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. Visitor numbers reach close to a million tourists every year. UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage".

Did You Know?

• Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the sandstone from which it is carved.
• The city was originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu.
• Al-Khazneh was constructed in the 1st century AD, possibly as the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV.
• Petra's population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants in the 1st century AD.