![]() This female figure is believed to be the Isis-Tyche, Isis and Tyche being the Egyptian and Greek goddesses, respectively, of good fortune. ![]() Near the top of the Treasury, two victories are seen standing on each side of a female figure on the tholos. Near the bottom of the Treasury are the twin Greek gods Castor and Pollux, who protect travellers on their journeys. The facade of the Treasury features a broken pediment with a central tholos inside, and two obelisks appear to form into the rock at the top. Perhaps the best example of the Hellenistic style is seen in the Treasury, which is 24 meters (79 ft) wide and 37 meters (121 ft) tall and references the architecture of Alexandria. Most of these tombs contain small burials niches carved into the stone. The facades of the tombs in Petra are commonly rendered in Hellenistic style, reflecting the number of diverse cultures which the Nabataens traded, all of which were in turn influenced by Greek culture. Petra is known primarily for its Hellenistic architecture. ![]() The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge, in places only 3–4 m (10–13 ft) wide, called the Siq ("shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. Today, most modern visitors approach the site from the east. Another approach was possibly from the high plateau to the north. In ancient times, Petra might have been approached from the south on a track leading across the plain of Petra, around Jabal Haroun ("Aaron's Mountain"), the location of the Tomb of Aaron, said to be the burial place of Aaron, brother of Moses. The narrow passage ( Siq) that leads to Petra Tourism in the city was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but soon after started to pick up again, reaching 905,000 visitors in 2022. Tourist numbers peaked at 1.1 million in 2019, marking the first time that the figure rose above the 1 million mark. Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. In 2007, Petra was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the stone from which it is carved. Īccess to the city is through a 1.2-kilometre-long ( 3⁄ 4 mi) gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the Khazneh. It remained unknown to the western world until 1812, when Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it. 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. Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 destroyed many structures. Petra fell to the Romans, who annexed Nabataea and renamed it as Arabia Petraea. Īlthough the Nabataean kingdom became a client state of the Roman Empire in the first century BC, it was only in 106 AD that it lost its independence. Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its Al-Khazneh structure – believed to be the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV – was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants. They were particularly skillful in harvesting rainwater, agriculture and stone carving. ![]() ![]() Unlike their enemies, the Nabataeans were accustomed to living in the barren deserts and were able to repel attacks by taking advantage of the area's mountainous terrain. The trading business gained the Nabataeans considerable revenue and Petra became the focus of their wealth. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the incense trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub. Archaeological work has only discovered evidence of Nabataean presence dating back to the second century BC, by which time Petra had become their capital. The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of their kingdom as early as the 4th century BC. It is adjacent to the mountain of Jabal Al-Madbah, in a basin surrounded by mountains forming the eastern flank of the Arabah valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra ( Arabic: ٱلْبَتْرَاء, romanized: Al-Batrāʾ Ancient Greek: Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean: □□□□), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is a historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. ![]()
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