The magnificent ruins of ancient Petra occupy a high plateau that rises out of Wadi Mousa, the Valley of Moses, in southwest Jordan. In 300 B.C., Nabataean invaders captured the city of Petra, which had been the capital of the Edomite Kingdom, and thus secured their hold on the region. (...)
The magnificent ruins of ancient Petra occupy a high plateau that rises out of Wadi Mousa, the Valley of Moses, in southwest Jordan. In 300 B.C., Nabataean invaders captured the city of Petra, which had been the capital of the Edomite Kingdom, and thus secured their hold on the region. Perched on the border between East and West, the Nabataeans controlled trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea and Arabia, Syria, and Egypt. Their taxes on passing caravans generated immense wealth for Petra, which was reflected in monumental sculpture and architecture throughout the city. Many of Petra’s most spectacular structures were not free-standing but were carved into the red sandstone surroundings so that their façades, which can climb up to 130 feet, appear in dramatic relief against the cliff-faces. Petra also possessed a system of channels, dams, and cisterns that enabled its desert existence and tempered the harmful effects of flash flooding. As the centuries progressed, waves of Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine influence washed over the city and are traceable in its architecture. Petra was finally abandoned in the 6th century because of changes in trade routes that crippled its economy.
