7/7/2007 was a new birth of the Pink city “Petra”, this date till now is a special date for every Jordainan because Petra was chosen as one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World'' not just for the beauty of Petra rose-colored sandstone, or for Petra setting in the midst of about 100 ruggedly dramatic square kilometers of Wadi Araba, but because this area is a living & huge museum of 10,000 years of human history. From the Neolithic village at al-Beidha, to Sela, the capital of the Edomites, thought to be located on top of Umm al-Biyara, to the incredible Nabatean creations in Petra proper, the Roman and Byzantine additions, and the local Bedouins, Petra's history represents the story of many civilizations. 

 Long a crossroads for trader Petra's architecture shows Assyrian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine influences. The name of  "Petra" came from the Greek word for rock. Excavations tell us that nearby al-Beidha was a prosperous village 9,000 years ago, contemporaneous with Jericho. The next residents in the area were the Edomites, biblical mountain-dwellers who battled for their freedom from the Judeans. 

 The Nabateans, who were mainly nomadic herders and raiders from Western Arabia, settled in the area in about the 4th century BC to make their living from levying taxes and protection fees on travelers. Their strong belief in solving conflicts through diplomacy rather than war probably contributed to the longevity of their culture.Many records show that they had conflicts with Greece, the Nabateans were primarily focused on furthering their trading goals. 

 There is also evidence of Hellenistic influence in Petra from about 150 BC, which coincides with the spread of Nabataean trade routes into Syria. By the 4th century BC, Petra had focused  its commercial base on trade in bitumen, frankincense, salt, and copper. The huge progressive and effective systems of commerce and justice Between the 1st centuries BC and AD were the turning point to gain a great reputation. Ironically, given the effort that the Nabateans made to preserve their independence from Rome, most of the surviving records about Nabatean culture are from Strabo, a Roman scholar. According to his writings, while the Nabateans had a humane monarchy, they also enjoyed a system of democracy, and were concerned, almost to the point of obsession, with accumulating both material wealth and water, which accounts for the many systems of cisterns and water harvesting still visible in modern Petra. Petra’s water system allowed for lush gardens in some of the wealthier homes, as well as irrigation for growing grapes, figs, and other fresh fruit. 

The Roman leader Pompey tried to seize Petra in 63 BC after he successfully conquered Syria and Palestine, but was bought off by the Nabatean leader Aretas III. However, the Romans eventually seized Petra in 106 AD. During the Byzantine period, a bishopric was created in Petra and some buildings were converted for Christian use. 

On the morning of May 19,363 AD, Many of the free-standing buildings were destroyed when a huge earthquake hit the city, after that the city never recovered from this disaster even though Petra continued to be inhabited for centuries.. While the Crusaders built a town at Wu'eira, it was abandoned 60 years later. However, when J. L. Burckhardt, a Swiss explorer traveling under the name of Ibrahim ibn Abdullah, entered Petra in 1812, he did so as the first Westerner in living memory.

The first thing visitors will pass by in Petra city is the Djinn blocks, huge carved blocks of stone that may represent the Nabatean god Betyl. The name comes from the local Bedouin, who long ago believed that the blocks were inhabited by djinn, or spirits. Close by is the Obelisk Tomb, thought to have been built in the 1st century BC, with its crown of four obelisks. Then as in the Nabateans' time, visitors will enter through the Siq, the main entrance to the city of Petra, the great fissure in the rock that leads into the heart of the area. At the entrance to the Siq,  there are six obelisk-shaped carvings and inscriptions, the most important of which tells the story of a resident of Requem, an archaic name for Petra, who had been returned to the area after dying in Jerash. 

Not by human hands, but by tectonic forces during a long-forgotten earthquake the Siq was carved. Ranging from 50 meters wide to only about 5, the Siq follows a meandering, 1.25 kilometer path, confined by walls about 100 meters tall. In the Siq, it is still possible to see sections of the paved Nabatean road, water channels, niches that previously held statues of various gods, and weathered carvings, as well as where the grain of the sandstone on one wall matches exactly the grain on the other wall. What made the Siq a safe entrance for camel trains that came from Oman, Syria and india it's the Siq narrowness and the tall stone walls. Trade and accumulation of wealth were so important to the Nabateans that merchants who suffered a loss during a year were fined.

The Siq ends directly in front of the Treasury (al-Khazneh), the most well known of Petra's monuments, which has been immortalized in countless photographs and in many films, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". The Treasury building, 43 meters by 30 meters, was deeply carved out of the living rock. As is the case with much of Petra, there are more beliefs & stories than facts regarding the Treasury. Although the story goes that a Pharaoh hid his treasure in the great urn at the top of the facade, thus providing the name, the building is actually believed to be the tomb of the Nabatean King Aretas III. The bullet holes that mar the urn bear testimony of the number of people who have searched for the riches. Iconoclasts defaced the figures on the facade, thought to be Victories, or possibly depictions of Nabatean goddesses, and now their true identities may never be known. The niches carved into the rock halfway up the edges of the facade leave scope for the imagination to wonder about their use. The sun plays with the color of the stone, making this a sight to enjoy at any time of day, and more than once during a visit.

Leading into the center of the city are over 40 rock-cut tombs and houses, known as the Street of Facades. Some of them are merely the tops of doorways, as the outer siq has slowly filled with sand over the intervening centuries. This is the easiest place to explore. Many tombs were destroyed when the Romans enlarged the Nabatean-built theatre to about 7000 seats sometime after 106 AD. As sections of the theatre were constructed, rather than carved, it was badly damaged in the earthquake of 363 AD. Eventually, some of the damaged pieces were recycled and used in constructions in other parts of Petra.

From the Outer Siq a steep path runs up to the High Place of Sacrifice, one of the oldest and most important cultic altars. The path winds past several unusual sites. The Lion fountain is one of the remarkable features found along the Wadi al-Farasa processional route, and an example of how the Nabataeans created attractive monuments out of functional amenities. Water once gushed forth from the open mouth of the huge lion you see. The carved channel above the lion’s head received water from Ain Braq spring, and the water collected in a basin here and eventually flowed to a large cistern at the foot of the mountain.The Garden Temple Complex boasts two freestanding colonnades outside a shrine. The Roman Soldier's Tomb still has three statues in military dress on the facade. Inside, the stone has weathered magnificently.

The High Place of Sacrifice, or ai-Mad bah, is one of the most interesting trails in the Petra area, in fact; this is my favorite trail. Visiting and exploring historical places on this part of Petra is amazing because every time I’m taking this trail I feel like if I’m the first and the only visitor who is discovering this area because it is very rare  to see someone moving all over the trail , yes that is right; you hardly can see someone moving on that area , and that is why I love this trail, and that is why I named this article as the previous one – Secrets of Petra ( less than 1% of Petra visitors see these areas of Petra)

The Royal Tombs are carved into the face of Jebel all Khubtha. The Urn Tomb, which shows both Nabatean and Roman architectural details, was redesigned as a Christian church around 447 AD. About 150 rolls of papyri from the 6th century AD were discovered in the church during an excavation. Next to this is the Silk Tomb, badly corrosion but brilliantly colored. The Corinthian Tomb, possibly the resting place of the ruler who built the Treasury, boasts a replica of it on the upper story. The Palace Tomb was the most ambitious of the Royal Tombs; when the builders ran out of rock to carve, they built the top of the facade. It is one of the more recent constructions and also one of the most ornamental. The final tomb is the Sextius Florentinus Tomb, which dates from 130 AD, and was built for the Roman governor of Arabia, with its faint inscriptions and carvings around the entrance.

The Colonnaded Street is a remnant from the Romans, built in 106 AD over an existing Nabatean street. This area was once full of markets and shops, and there is evidence that this was a popular area well into the 6th century Be. Overlooking the area are a Byzantine church with mosaic floors and the Temple of the Winged Lions, which was sacred to Atargatis, the Nabatean fertility goddess who was Dushara's consort. The Nymphaeum, a public fountain dedicated to water nymphs, was at one end. At the other end was the Temenos Gate, built in the 2nd century AD, which led to the sacred precinct around the Qasr al-Bint.

This free-standing Nabatean building was one of the few left standing after the earthquakes of the 4th and 8th centuries. Enough still stands to demonstrate how impressive it must have been. There is evidence that the Romans set the Qasr on fire, and the two earthquakes then wrecked their own havoc. While the name means "Castle of the Daughter," it is believed to actually have been built in 30 BC for Dushara, and was one of the most important temples. In fact, there is evidence that Dushara's name (He of Sharra) came from the Sharra Mountains, which the Qasr faces.

Other sanctuaries here include the Great Temple and the Petra Church. The Great Temple was built as a Nabatean temple in the 1 st century Be. Records show that it was used for different religious purposes until late in the Byzantine period. It was once an impressive sanctuary, with white and red stucco inside. It housed a 600-seat theatre, a paved courtyard, and a triple colonnade. Adjacent to the Great Temple, archeologists have recently discovered a garden that may have served as a public park. Complete with pools, bridges and shade trees, the area resembles gardens built by Herod the Great in Judea. Herod's mother was Nabatean, and he spent much of his childhood in Petra.

Nabateans had built the Petra Church, and during the Roman period it had been redesigned, then it had burned. However, it has recently been restored and the mosaics are lovely. At the top of al-Habis, behind the Great Temple, is a small Crusader fort, presumably built as a lookout post for the larger castle at Wu'eira. On the same hill, there are the self-described Unfinished Tomb and the Columbarium, which was perhaps used to keep messenger pigeons. Overlooking al-Habis is Umm all Biyara. While its face is carved with Nabatean tombs, at the summit are the remains of an Edomite village of Sela, dating from the 7th century Be.

For sheer exhilaration, there are two sites that cannot be matched in Petra. The Monastery (al-Deir), is similar to the Treasury, but larger, measuring over 46 meters by 40 meters, and faces an enormous flat plain. Its name comes from the crosses etched onto the back wall of the large interior chamber. From the Monastery, it is possible to see the other boggling site, the shrine and 14th century mosque of Nebi Haroun, where Moses's brother Aaron is said to have died and been buried. J.L. Burckhardt told the local Bedouin, who were uncomfortable with him visiting Petra, that he had a vow to sacrifice a goat at this tomb, and it was only this story that persuaded them to lead him in. This is the highest site in Petra, at 1,350 meters.

Other sites in the area include the 12th century Crusader castle at Wu'eira, the Siq al-Barid, which became a "bedroom community" of  Petra, the Neolithic village of Beidha, the Roman fortress ruins of Udruh and Daajaniyya, and the renovated Ottoman era village of Taybeh.

This microcosm of human history can take the visitor on a trip through time, back as far as 10,000 years. Visitors can be amazed not only by the historical grandeur, but also by the natural beauty of the effects of sun, wind and weather on colorful stones. What is even more fascinating is that excavations continue in the area. Most of Petra still lies beneath the sand. Who knows what treasures will be uncovered in the future, to further grace one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Petra visit is covered with the Following Tours