Petra Ancient City Of Rock

Petra Ancient City Of Rock

 

Unraveling Petra-  the ancient city of rock

 

The ancient city of Petra is located roughly 115 miles to the southwest of Amman, the capital of the country of Jordan.It was an ancient city that was genuinely carved into the red desert cliffs that are made of durable sandstone. Its stunning ancient Arab architecture and natural desert beauty have made it a very attractive tourist destination for people from all over the world. In fact, parts of the famous American film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, was filmed on location in Petra. This caused to become even more popular in the west.

 

Roman Annexation

 

Petra ancient city of rock had flourished under the advancement of technology and intuitive ways in which the Nabataean people had so proficiently built a system of water ways and aqueducts to store water, which they later sold for massive profits.

 

The city expanded even after its annexation to Rome, in about 106 A.D. Petra had served as the capital for the Nabataean tribe, who were known to write in an Aramaic language and had controlled most of the caravan trade throughout the region.

 

 

Discovery

 

The firstknown existence of the city of Petra and its people can be traced from as early as 312 B.C., when they had apparently pushed back a major attack one of Alexander the Great's successors. Prior to such attacks on their newly established city,the Nabataean tribe werebelieved to be stateless individuals who lived nomadic lifestyles, and historians believe that Petra would have likely been a place that predominantly comprised of nomadic tents and basic structures.

 

Ancient tombs and structures

 

The ancient rock cityof Petra contains a number of tombs, most of which were built towards the edge of the city. Even the tombs varied in structure and architecture because some of them seem to be very simple, and contain multiple bodies buried in unmarked rock chambers.A few others were more intricately built, suggesting that they were tombs.

 

The city’s location amidst the rugged desert canyons and mountains of the Ma’an governorate if the kingdom of Jordan made it an oasis in the desert as it stood at the crossroads of many important caravan routes and eventually became a major hub for trade and commerce, which was furthered by the highly proficient skills of the Nabataean tribesmen who were well versed with the various trades and crafts of engineering and commerce.

 

In what is today’s southwestern corridor of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Petra, a once a flourishing trade center and the capital of the Nabataean tribe, has become an area of archeological awe that draws historians, scholars and archeologists alike as it houses structures and technology that was considered centuries ahead of its time and still holds many secrets that are yet to be revealed.

 

The ancient rock city sat empty and in a dilapidated state for many centuries before it was finally discovered in the early 1800s, reportedly by a European traveler who had disguised himself as a local Bedouin so that he could infiltrate the area without being questioned.