This book guides the reader through the best-preserved ruins and monuments of Petra, the lost city of the Nabateans, and the desert cities of the Negev, and gives many practical tips for the visitor.

The Nabataean Arabs, one of the most gifted peoples of the ancient world, are today known only for their hauntingly beautiful rock-carved capital - Petra, a magnificent city carved out of the mountains, and one of the most breath-taking achievements of the ancient world. Yet they were famous in their day - Herod the Great and his sons, and a kaleidoscope of Roman emperors and generals were keenly aware of this powerful and wealthy trading kingdom. The Nabateans became inspired patrons of the arts, creating some of the most sublime and perfectly individual architecture of the time, not only at Petra, but over much of the Middle East. This richly illustrated book recounts the story of a remarkable but lost civilization. It tells of their nomadic origins, the development of their rich culture in Jordan, Syria, Arabia, Sinai and the Negev, their relations with their more famous neighbours and the demise of their kingdom at the hands of the Romans.

This book contains information about a rich historical site in Jordan. This ancient site was crafted using the cliffs of sandstone in the south of the country. The word "Petra" is of Greek origin and means "rock", which perfectly suits a city carved into the cliffs of Jordan. The Rediscovered City of Stone: Just a few hours south of the country's capital, Amman, the area was officially founded by the Arab tribe of nomads. This occurred centuries before Christ was born. This tribe was well known for their impeccable engineering, agriculture, trading, and of course, stone-carving skills. Much is still unknown about this ancient culture, but we know for sure that they were incredibly talented artists and engineers. At this city, a people called the Nabataeans created tombs, temples, halls and houses, aqueducts, and prestigious altars. They created a civilization that existed right in the midst of the Near East, an ancient area for trading and commerce since the routes for transporting spice and traveling trails all existed within the city of Petra. In its hay day, Petra housed about 20,000 people, called the Nabataeans. These ancient humans were known for coming up with a way to create a waterway system to fuel their city, perhaps the most impressive fact about this is that it was right in the middle of the desert. The lost city was discovered again in the 1800s, and more information as to how the ancient inhabitants lived are still being unearthed. We are now coming to discover exactly how this impressive city appeared thousands of years back. Scroll to the top of the page and click Add To Cart to read more about this extraordinary chapter of history

"Petra's mysterious beauty and dramatic story have long captivated the imaginations of historians and art lovers. Recent excavations by the archaeologists Jean-Marie Dentzer and Christian Auge provide new information about this city, unique in history."--BOOK JACKET.

While Petra’s fame might often come second to things like the Egyptian pyramids at Giza, ancient Greece, or the Great Wall of China, you can now see that the Rose City certainly deserves its place under the Sun as one of the most precious jewels of our collective, human heritage. Petra surely has a surplus of beauty and other kinds of visual appeal, but you can now see that this is only half of the picture. Our world is filled to the brim with such wonders, bestowed upon us by countless different cultures from every corner of the planet. Some are older or more renowned than others, but all remnants of civilizations of the past have one thing in common: they tell us invaluable stories. These are stories of lives led by people who seem infinitely distant from our perspective but might have as well lived yesterday as far as the grand scheme of time is concerned. They might have had a different outlook and daily life, but the essence of humanity remains fundamentally unchanged.

*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary descriptions of Petra *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "Petra, O Leeds, is the most wonderful place in the world, not for the sake of its ruins, which are quite a secondary affair, but for the colour of its rocks, all red and black and gray with streaks of green and blue, in little wriggly lines...and for the shape of its cliffs and crags and pinnacles, and for the wonderful gorge it has, always running deep in spring-water, full of oleanders, and ivy and ferns, and only just wide enough for a camel at a time, and a couple of miles long. But I have read hosts of the most beautifully written accounts of it, and they give one no idea of it at all...so you will never know what Petra is like, unless you come out here... Only be assured that till you have seen it you have not had the glimmering of an idea how beautiful a place can be." - A letter from T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") to his childhood friend E.T. Leeds in February, 1914. When the European armies of the Third Crusade were defeated at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 CE, the region of what is today southern Jordan was overrun by Saladin's armies, and over the following five centuries knowledge of Petra's existence was lost to the people of Europe. The ancient city and center of civilization hidden in the desert became a myth, drawn largely upon Biblical accounts of the people and places in the Holy Land. However, during the Enlightenment of the early 18th century, interesting new theories emerged, and there grew a desire to rediscover the rose-red city. It was within this context that the Swiss-born explorer and orientalist Johann Ludwig Burckhardt became the known as the first European to "discover" Petra. Disguised as an Arab, he convinced a local guide to navigate him through the innumerable dangers of the Wadi Araba desert in pursuit of the rumored tomb of Aaron and a timeless city hidden in the hills. On Saturday, August 22nd, 1812, he ascended the high hills of southern Jordan and was led down a deep ravine, which twisted and turned through until a splendid sight was revealed before him: a secret valley filled with ruins and the dark holes of rock-cut tombs. Although his disguise had brought him that far, it also prevented him from being able to fully study the ruins or make copies of what he saw there. After spending only a day exploring the valley, his guide had grown suspicious, so he was forced to move on across the Sinai Peninsula, eventually arriving at Cairo on September 4th. This expedition marked the beginnings of everything that is known about this ancient and mysterious site. Further expeditions and archaeological investigations over the following two centuries have considerably broadened knowledge about Petra's past, and the ruined Rose City is now an archaeological landscape that has been made famous as a UNESCO World Heritage site, a "new" wonder of the world, and as the repository of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Yet, despite its fame, many people do not know about the religious beliefs, artistic creativity, technological innovation, commerce, and politics of the numerous peoples that resided there. Petra: The History of the Rose City, One of the New Seven Wonders of the World looks at the history of Petra from prehistoric times to the end of the Crusades, as well as the city's "rediscovery" in the 19th century and how it has entered the world's imagination since then. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Petra like never before.

Deep in the desert of Jordan lies the hidden city of Petra, one of the greatest marvels of the ancient world. Carved from rose-red rock, Petra’s monuments, dwellings and temples were for centuries the centre of a splendid civilization. Later the city fell into ruin and its location was lost, until the Swiss explorer Johann Burckhardt rediscovered it in 1812. Petra’s mysterious beauty and dramatic story have long captivated the imaginations of historians and art lovers. Recent excavations by the authors Christian Augé and Jean-Marie Dentzer provide new information about this unique city.