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Petra is the treasure of ancient world, hidden behind
an almost impenetrable barrier of rugged mountains, boasting incomparable
scenes that make it the most majestic and imposing ancient site
still-standing nowadays.. It has been said "perhaps there is
nothing in the world that resembles it", actually, for sure,
there is nothing in the world that resembles it. The rock-carved
rose-red city of Petra is full of mysterious charm, it was "designed
to strike wonder into all who entered it".
Petra is considered the most famous and gorgeous site in Jordan
located about 262 km south of Amman and 133 km north of Aqaba. It
is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who
settled in southern Jordan more than 2000 years ago. Admired then
for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex
of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO world heritage
site that enchants visitors from all corners of the globe.
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The approach through a kilometer long, cool, and
gloom chasm (or Siq) a long narrow gorge whose steeply rising sides
all but obliterate the sun, provides a dramatic contrast with the
magic to come. Suddenly the gorge opens into a natural square dominated
by Petra's most famous monument, The Treasury (El-Khazneh), whose
intricately carved facade glows in the dazzling sun.
More facades beckon the visitor on until the ancient city gradually
unfolds, one monument leading to the next for kilometer after kilometer.
The sheer size of the city and the quality of beautifully carved facades
is staggering and leads one to reflect on the creativity and industry
of the Nabataeans who made Petra their capital. Petra
is always breathtaking, and never to be forgotten. It flourished
for over 400 years around the time of Rome and Christ (pbuh), until
it was occupied by the Roman legions of the Emperor Trajan in 106
AD.
The Petra basin boasts over 800 individual monuments, including
buildings, tombs, baths, funerary halls, temples, arched gateways,
and colonnaded streets, that were mostly carved from the kaleidoscopic
sandstone by the technical and artistic genius of its inhabitants.
Petra sights are at their best in early morning and
late afternoon, when the sun warms the multicolored stones, you
can view the majesty of Petra as it was seen first when discovered
in 1812 after being lost by the 16th century for almost 300 years!
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