TRADE was, like so many ancient cities, the key to Petra’s wealth. Their ability to control and manage water allowed the nomadic Nabataeans to settle in this valley, and bequeath the world this great sandstone city. It existed for around 2300 years before a young Harrison Ford bequeathed Petra silver screen fame.
Views from the hill tops around Petra.
A narrow chasm provied the first glimpse of the great Nabataen city of Petra.
The first building visitors see at Petra is the impressive Siq.
The Nabataens got wealthy controlling trade routes through Arabia to the Red Sea. Frankinsence was particularyly valued.
Eroded porticos at Petra, the famous Nabatean city in Jordan.
The Nabataens were highly skilled at gathering rainwater in the dry desert of Arabia, allowing them to live and thrive in the unforgiving envirnoment.
The scale of the buildings at Petra are hard to take in. Note the person in the cecntre right of the picture.
Petra may have been inhabited around 9000BC, while the city was probably established about 300BC.
Walking around into the upper reaches provides a bird's eye view.
Multi-coloured stone buildings eroded by time.
A Bedouin ride his camel at Petra.
Camels kiss at the Siq.
Indentation down the walls show where ladders or platforms were built, as the workers carved their way down the rock face.
More majestic views of the red (or is it pink?) city.
Bedouin still live in the area around Petra.
A pair of tourist put the scale of Petra into perspective.