Why is Petra remarkable?

The most impressive and famous structure remains Al-Khazneh – the Treasury – placed firmly on the map after Indiana Jones went in search of the holy grail. "You can't really say that anything in Indiana Jones is accurate," Haifa University archaeologist Ronny Reich told National Geographic. read more

Petra (from the Latin word 'petrae', meaning 'rock') lies in a great rift valley east of Wadi 'Araba in Jordan about 80 kilometers south of the Dead Sea. It came into prominence in the late first century BCE (BC) through the success of the spice trade. read more

The Nabateans built the Treasury – and most of Petra's grandest buildings – as sculptures, carving them into the sandstone cliffs. It is this display of human creativity amid such rugged surroundings that makes Petra remarkable. read more

Petra (Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ; Ancient Greek: Πέτρα), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu, is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Petra lies on the slope of Jabal Al-Madbah in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah valley that run from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. read more