Mysterious Petra in Jordan

Петра – это удивительный, очень древний, полный загадок и один из самых красивых и хорошо сохранившийся город в самом центре Иордании. Этот древний город является всемирным наследием ЮНЕСКО. Название города, в переводе с греческого языка означает камень или скала. В древние времена Петра соединяла Индию, Ближний Восток и Аравию торговыми путями. Экскурсоводы, которые приводят туристов в древний город, признаются, что на самом деле, об этом древнем и загадочном городе ничего практически не известно. Эта таинственность, загадочность и привлекает туристов и путешественников со всего света. Уникальность этого города в том, что он вырублен в скалах – город-крепость.

Getting to the city is not easy, the way is very diverse and long. It begins with a narrow gorge Siq, located between the mountains. And according to legend, the winding road that goes to the gorge, under the arches of rocks, was formed by the impact of the staff of Moses, which according to legend was crooked, so the road is so uneven.

History says that about 2,000 years ago BC, tribes of Nabateans, Arab nomadic tribes, came to this land of Jordan and built this city. And today, Petra is the most important landmark of Jordan, which is located 262 kilometers south of the capital Amman.

The holes in the walls, which occur in the city, historians tend to call tombs. And one gets the impression that the entire old city is a burial site. But the most interesting thing is that in the history of excavations in the ancient city not a single buried person has been found. At the very bottom of this gorge, the most beautiful and largest palace called el-Khazneh appears before the tourists. This palace is carved into the rock, and its height is 42 meters. And go around this magnificent palace, you are surrounded by temples, tombs, buildings, stairs, arches and streets carved in the rock. There you can also see the Roman Amphitheater, which was carved out of stone and had a seating capacity of 4,000 spectators.

The rocks in which the city is carved are unusual in their composition, and change their color depending on the time of day. From dark red to pink and sometimes orange.

The most popular sites visited by tourists are: "Al Khazneh", "Qasr Al Bint" (Palace of Pharaoh's Daughter), "Sahrinj" (Jinnah Boulders), "Ad Dray" (Monastery), "Obelisk Tomb", "Al Uzza Agargatis" (Temple of Red Lions), the sacred mountain "Jebel Al Madrah" (Mountain of Sacrifices) and many more.