About Petra

Petra, established as early as 312 BCE, was the capital city and the greatest city of the Nabateans. Petra was an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. Petra is often called the “Rose City” because of the colour of the stone from which it is carved. Petra made its Hollywood debut in 1989 in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Nabateans

The Nabateans probably came from north Arabia. They occupied the area from Sinai and Negev to northern Arabia in the west and as far as southern Syria. The wealth of the Nabateans came from the trade in frankincense and myrrh, as well as the sale of bitumen from the Dead Sea. Their sophisticated architectural tradition was influenced by the Mesopotamians and Greeks. They carved the fronts of temples and tombs out of rock cliffs. Their status as an independent civilisation came to an end when the Roman Emperor Trajan annexed the Nabatean kingdom.

Rock-Cut Facades

Petra was a well-developed metropolis with all the trappings of a Hellenistic city. Access to the city is through a 2km long gorge called the Siq which leads to The Treasury or Khazneh. Petra can also be seen as a large necropolis (cemetery). The tomb facades reflect the diverse and different cultures with which the Nabateans traded, interacted and even intermarried.

The Treasury

The façade (39m high by 25m wide) clearly embodies the Hellenistic style and reflects the influence of Alexandria, the greatest city in the Eastern Mediterranean at the time. Ornate Corinthian columns are used throughout. There are no inscriptions or ceramic evidence associated with the tomb. It was probably a tomb for one of the Nabatean kings.

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