Petra – Arabic Cities

Petra

Petra

Petra is an ancient city dating back to the Hellenistic and Roman eras, located in southwest Jordan. Now it’s an Arabic city. It was built on a balcony occupied by Wadi Musa from east to west. It was named the Rose City in the nineteenth century AD by the biblical scholar John. William Bergen, because of the color of the stones from which it was built and because the valley is surrounded by sandstone cliffs, which is surrounded by shades of red and purple, in addition to the pale yellow, where the modern city of Wadi Musa serves the continuous visits of tourists to Petra .

History of Petra Jordan

The city of Petra was built as a trading point by the Nabataeans, who were the original inhabitants of the southwest region of Jordan at the time. The Nabataeans gained a great deal of wealth resulting from trade in the city of Petra, and in 312 BC it was attacked by the Greek invaders, who were resisted By the Nabataeans, by taking advantage of the mountainous terrain surrounding the city, and they succeeded in eliminating them, as the mountains acted as a natural wall supporting the city.

The Greeks were not the only ones who invaded the city of Petra, as it was conquered by the Romans in the year 106 AD, who forced the Nabateans to surrender, and the annexation of Petra to the Roman lands, and giving it the name of Arab Petraea, and the Romans continued to control the city for more than 250 years, Until the middle of the fourth century AD, when an earthquake destroyed many of its buildings, and the Byzantines eventually took control of it, and ruled it for about 300 years, and in 1985 AD it was selected as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and historians consider it an important site because of its beautiful architecture, and its innovative system water, making it habitable .

Petra Landmarks

There are many distinctive monuments and monuments that can be seen by tourists :

  • Al-Khazneh
  • Royal tombs
  • Street of Facades
  • Temenos Gateway
  • Great Temple
  • Byzantine Church
  • Temple of Dushares
  • The Urn Tomb

Read more about famous Arab CitiesThe list of Arab CountriesList of Arab capitals