Called the eighth

wonder of the ancient

world . Petra is the
most important and
precious treasure of
Jordan and its tourist
attraction.
 History

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
10km, and was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom.
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 building of a triumphal arch over the Siq.
When the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, visited the site in 131 AD, he named
it after himself, Hadrian 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.
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
Bedouins. This once magnificent city was forgotten entirely by the western
world until the Swiss traveler, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, disguised as an
Arab, rediscovered it on August 22nd, 1812.
 How was it builded?
the valley was highly esteemed for its easy defense.
its first inhabitants were nomadic, no physical traces of the houses rather
than from the Nabataean period, as this civilization built and lived there for
a long time.
After the place is practically deserted
After the rediscovery of the city by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812, it has
been found in the writings of antiquity many sources that evoke the history
of Petra.
Petra Map
 
Originally, the Nabataeans were a nomadic people, their
buildings were simple tents goatskin. After very simple rooms
excavated in the rock: with smooth facades, with a door at the
bottom and one or two ladder-shaped cuts. It is an adaptation
of the Syrian Nabatean tombs. Being in constant contact with
the civilizations of their environment, made were inspired by
their styles, especially in Alexandria.
In the first century the construction of monumental structures began:
the tombs of Deir, the Palace and Corinthian. During the second
century city builders adopted Hellenistic architectural details (frieze,

architrave, pilasters ...) and created a new style still called Nabatean
capital.

Increasingly they use only decorative structures, some inspired by

Aboriginal culture: rosettes, animals in the region or elsewhere
inspired by ancient Greek
Strabo said that authorities made publicly Petra pay a fine on those
who cut their wealth and gave honors to the increased; many people
sported sending their wealth building tombs and imposing
monuments.
Detail column shaped decoration elephant head.


Although public buildings, monuments and
tombs indicate a strong Hellenistic influence
and other civilizations, with its columns,
colonnades and other foreign details, private
areas of the Nabataeans, where they slept, ate
and worked, follow the Arabic style.
Often there are stone benches to sit during meals, but the rest of the
furniture seems to have been wood because there is no trace of him. The
kitchens are located outside the main house to minimize the risk of fire, as
is the case in many other countries. 
The people of Petra also built many buildings with columns, used inside
and outside buildings. Outside, they served to separate the interior patios
and other structures and in the interior, to decorate and to separate
different rooms.
During the Roman occupation, the Romans built a straight street, lined with
porticoes with columns, towards the city market; before all the streets followed
the contours of the valley, the main street followed the course of the Siq.

It should be noted that the relatively good preservation of
monuments is because, by tradition, the inhabitants of

neighboring villages have "maintained" the city until
about the nineteenth century.
 Popular Culture

The site is featured in films such as:
 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
 Arabian Nights
 Passion in the Desert
 Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
 Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
 The Mummy Returns
 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
 
It was recreated for the video games:
 Spy Hunter (2001)
 King's Quest V
 Lego Indiana Jones
 Sonic Unleashed
 Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade
 Civilization V.