The city of Petra is the most famous landmark in Jordan. It is called the "home of eternity." And perhaps not without reason. The Victorian traveler and poet Dean Burgon wrote lines about Petra that are still quoted today: "Show me another place so beautiful in the eastern land, comparable to this pink-red city, as ancient as the world."
Petra is a true wonder of the world, being the most impressive work of antiquity. The buildings carved from the rocks and constructed from red stone seem to float in the mirage-like spaces. Temples, an amphitheater, palaces, royal chambers, tombs, channels and reservoirs, baths, markets, archways, streets, staircases, sculptures, and altars... - this is the result of amazing combinations of nature and human imagination, capturing and creating a symbiosis of thoughts and aspirations, myths and customs of a civilization that has long since vanished into oblivion.
Everything that unfolds before the eyes in Petra is a symbiosis of nature and the creations of high human culture.
Hidden in deep, hard-to-reach mountains, surrounded by a realm of deserts, Petra leaves a strong impression. Entering the City of the Gods (as Petra is also called), travelers are immediately transported to a completely different spatial dimension, another world. Words cannot convey the feelings that envelop you upon entering the city. Rocks resembling the forms of gods and mythical heroes surround you on all sides, creating a sense of connection to a deep history.
The creators of the city called themselves Nabataeans, which in Arabic means "sculptors." They were renowned for their stone-working skills. The masters not only created temples, dwellings, theaters, and prisons from stone, but also knew how to collect the precious water in these places, carving channels in the rock to direct rainwater into special reservoirs.
The mountains surrounding Petra on all sides served as a factor of protection against all kinds of encroachments.
The Nabataeans settled the mountains of Petra and the lands of Edom as early as the 6th century BC. They developed the springs around Petra, carved out dwellings, and built other structures. Thus, over many generations, the Nabataeans created a fairy-tale city in the pink rocks.
By strengthening their positions through active trade, the Nabataeans accumulated vast fortunes and came to hold dominant power in the region.
