Petra Stone Town

Petra, stone town and impress all the pilgrims, is an archaeological site placed to southwestern Jordan. The Town lies along the foot of Mount Hor  walking across a long gorge and then stretching the eastern side of the Arabah valley, known as Wadi Araba - wide valley that stretches from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.

The city is best known for its architecture, carved always entirely in stone mountain that support most of the buildings.

Petra - a discovery of world importance

The city, with the whole area of the western world remained unknown until 1812, when he was discovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Explorer discovery was described in a John William Burgon's sent as a reddish-pink city half as old time.

Soon, the city attracted worldwide concentration. The representation of the world monument in the UNESCO program, described the monument Jordan Valley as one of the most precious cultural heritage to mankind.  On December 6, 1985, the ancient town of Petra was declared a world monument. Requiem, the ancient name of the city of Petra, is a name that appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls and is also associated with Mount Seir. In addition to this testimony, the historian Eusebius and Jerome mention that her Rekem native name of Petra.

The latter relies on the authority of Josephus, Pliny the Younger's and other writers who identify Petra as the capital city of nabataenilor - Aramaic-speaking Semites - and the center of dealing with trade caravans.

By entering the canyon that takes you to the ancient city of Petra, I race in a Bedouin come and go crazy, small and agile horses, decorated with tassels red. Some tourists accept to be transported on the backs of horses or camels climb and some are worn with small budge every horse carriages old. In noise as they hit the tiles horseshoes, old town, accompanied by a cloud of dust and Arab shout, you feel like you are back in time 2,000 years. Canyon with high walls and narrow openings, amazes you with its layers of rock colors: red, yellow, white, orange or blue steel. And after half an hour of walking, a stunning spectacle offered by reddish rock, you appear in front of the most beautiful city ever made ​​inlaid nature and only here and there by man. Everything from the windows, columns and statues, from ornaments to the great salons fune-rare stone is cut directly into the impressive canyon.

It was discovered in 1812

Undoubtedly, Petra is one of the most spectacular places in the world. They dispute the primacy of another lost city, Machu Picchu seducatorul. It was discovered in 1812 by a Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, who described it as a city like a red rose, as old as time. Petra's story is shrouded in mystery. It mentions the origin of some Arab merchants who controlled the trade with perfumes and spices throughout the Arabian Peninsula, a century before Christ. Do not know how they managed to adapt to urban life nomads, but it seems to have become one of the most civilized peoples of antiquity. In the canyon were found over 3,000 tombs carved into the rock, an amphitheater, a church and town hall. It is said that the spectacular canyon was formed after an earthquake. And all in an earthquake, Petra was wiped off the map.