Petra A Rose Red City
Posted On November 20, 2009
Petra is a city located in Jordan. A nomadic tribe called Nabataean Arabs established Petra some where around the 6th Century BC. Later they themselves settled in the area and extended their commercial empire up to Syria. King Antigonus, Herod the Great and the Roman emperor Pompey tried a lot to bring Petra under their rule but Petra always remained in the hands of Nabataean Arabs. Later around 100 AD the Roman took over Petra. The focus of Romans moved to Constantinople which reduced the importance of Petra. The Crusaders made a fort in Petra but in 12yth century they with drew their power gave Petra in the hands of the locals and went away. A Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited Petra in 19th century.
Located on the edge of the desert of Wadi Araba Petra is located at a distance of 3-5 
hours in the south direction of Amman and also about 2 hrs in the north direction of Aqaba. The city has the natural protection against the outsiders, as the city has towering hills around the outline of the city. The hills are of rust-colored sandstone. The Nabataeans used to crave their tombs and temples in these stones. The color of the stones ranges from white, to pale yellow. You can also find red as well as darker brown colored stones. The Nabataeans developed their architecture by using the shades of stones together to give some kind of color effect.
At one side you have giant colored mountain ranges and other side you have modern civilization. Petra is one of the great wonders that are developed with both nature and man coming together. Jordan’s most valuable tourist attraction, Petra is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. This unique and vast city is fully carved by the Nabataeans. The Arabs who lived here for nearly 2000 years turned it into a important place for the important trade routes which does the exchange of silk and spices.
The city suffers from a numbers of threat to name few of them are falling of the older building, improper restoration of older building structures, weather problem and improper drainage system for the proper flow of rain water.
Entering in the city is through the 1 kilometre long Siq is expeirnce of one of its kind. You can experience the dazzling of colors while walking through this route. At the end of the Siq you will be first seeing the Al-Khazneh (Treasury). Petra is 
made up of many wonders like the treasury. You need minimum 5 days to watch the beauty of the city. You will surely fall in love with the city’s architectural achievements.
There are many tombs with excellent carving on it. Most of the houses are destroyed during the earth quakes.
You will come across a roman style theatre with the seating capacity of nearly 3,000 people. The city has two wonderful museums, the Petra Nabataean Museum and the Petra Archaeological Museum both the city gives you an over view of the city’s colorful past.
