The “Lost City” has its secrets to reveal: The thousand years ago, the now abandoned city of Petra was thriving.
Curved directly into red, white, pink and sandstone cliff faces, the prehistoric Jordanian city of Petra was lost to the Western world for centuries. Located amid rugged canyons and mountains in what is now the southwestern corner of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Petra was once a thriving trading center and the capital of Nabatean Empire, between 400 BC to 109 AD.
The city sat empty and in near ruin for centuries. Only in the early 1800’s did a European in Bedouin costume managed to reach here and discover the amazing place. In 1985 Petra Archelogical Park has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site and in 2007 was declared one of the seven wonders of the world.
Fact and Fiction
Several scenes from the Hollywood blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were shot in Petra. The movie’s fictional Canyon of the Crescent Moon was modeled in the eastern side of Petra, a 250 feet high slope of sandstone slot canyon known as the Siq, that leads to so called Treasury (Al Khazneh) – perhaps the one of most stunning of dozen of Petra breath taking sites. In the film’s climatic final scenes, the Treasury hall looked huge, but in reality it is a very small hall, crafted into the rock, once used as royal tomb. A giant urn curved above the entrance to the Treasury has hundreds of gunshot marks. Bedouin tribesmen living around the site, commented that it was caused by numerous robbers, who came to loot the urn, which was made of solid stone. There are hundreds of tombs and other structures constructed and curved inside and within Petra.
History
The Nabateans, before consumed by Roman empire, controlled a vast tract in Middle East from modern day Israel and Jordan into the northern side of Arabian peninsula. The remains of their innovative networks of water capture, storage, transport and irrigation systems are found to this day throughout the area. Scholars say Nabateans were in Petra from at least 312 BC. Archeologist Al-Muheisen from Jordan Yarmouk University says there is no evidence of any civilization sign earlier than fourth century BC, though beneath the surface there are still more surprises. He says, only 15 percent of the city was discovered to date. The vast majority of the ruins is still underground and untouched. In December 1993 an ancient church of Byzantine period was found near the winged lion temple ruin. Once Rome took possession of Petra in AD period, its importance and fame began to wane. The decay of the city continued, adding earthquakes, rise of sea trade – and Petra reached its lowest historical point during the end of Byzantine era around 700 AD.
Tourists and visitors now notice a blend of Nabatean and Greco-Roman civilization, much of which was lost by looters and thieves in medieval times. Today local Bedouins sell tourists various souveniers, among which are pieces of the famous rock, that prophet Musa (A) struck to attain water.