Petra



Petra is an ancient city located in southern Jordan. It is thought to have been founded sometime between the 1st and 4th centuries BC by the Nabataean people, an Arab culture that controlled much of the trade in the region.

The site is surrounded by mountains which would have offered good protection from their enemies. Access to the city is through a narrow 1.2-kilometre-long gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the Treasury.

The city was known for its advanced water systems and for its impressive rock-cut architecture, which includes the famous Treasury building. Petra was an important crossroads for trade and served as a major centre for the region for hundreds of years.

Today, Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Petra site is massive. We spent 2 days at the site and probably didn't fully explore everything.

The site map to the right documents the locations of most of the major attractions.

Please excuse the quality of the photos and videos below. They were taken with 1990s vintage analogue cameras and subsequently digitized. In order to give you a better view of the site, I have added several more current pictures that have been "borrowed"" from the internet.

Below are thumbnails of each of the photos.
Click on any image to enlarge it.
The enlarged image will open in a new window. From there, you can either close the window and choose another to enlarge or simply click the "Next" or "Previous" button to scan through all pictures.




© copyright   Gary & Nancy