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You're watching FreeSchool!
 

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Petra, an ancient city carved into the red 
sandstone of Jordan, is a place of secrets  

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and wonder. Hidden deep within a narrow 
canyon, this lost city has stood the test  

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of time and still holds many mysteries within its 
towering stone walls. Once a thriving metropolis,  

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Petra was abandoned for centuries, 
only to be rediscovered in the 1800s.  

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Today, it is one of the most fascinating and 
enigmatic archaeological sites in the world,  

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drawing visitors from all over to explore its 
hidden tombs, temples, and monuments. Petra is  

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a place where history and mystery collide, and 
one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
 

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Petra is also known as the "Rose City" because 
of the color of the stone it's carved into.  

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It was founded around 300 BC by the Nabateans,  

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a nomadic tribe of Arabs who settled in the area 
and turned it into a bustling trade center. 

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The city was strategically located at the 
crossroads of important trade routes,  

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allowing merchants to bring goods from all 
over the ancient world to Petra's markets.  

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This included cloth, spices, 
ivory, gold, and incense.  

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These items would be traded with merchants 
from as far away as India, China, and Rome,  

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and were in high demand among the 
wealthy citizens of the Mediterranean.
 

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Although it was perfectly situated 
to take advantage of trade routes,  

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Petra's desert location posed 
another challenge: water.  

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The Nabateans were expert engineers, and built 
complex systems of dams, channels, and cisterns  

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to collect and distribute water from 
flash floods and springs in the area.  

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By turning the desert around Petra into 
an oasis, they were able to grow enough  

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crops to sustain a large population, and 
even grow a surplus of olives and grapes,  

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which in turn, attracted 
more traders to the city. 

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Due to its position as a crossroads, Petra 
became a hub of cultural exchange, as well.  

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Merchants and traders from all over the ancient 
world would come to Petra, bringing with them  

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new ideas, technologies, and customs, which 
would be adopted and adapted by the Nabateans.  

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The buildings in Petra show architectural 
influences from as far away as Greece,  

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Egypt, and India, and allowed Petra to become 
one of history's most extravagant cities.
 

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One of the most iconic sites 
in Petra is the Monastery,  

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a massive building carved into a rock face 
that may have been used for religious purposes.  

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At 154 feet or 47 meters high, it is the 
tallest surviving building at the site.  

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The Monastery is known for its intricate carvings 
and elaborate facade, which features a series of  

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ornate columns and statues, but inside you 
will only find a single square chamber. 

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A site with more substance is the Treasury. 
The Treasury's façade is also carved  

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out of solid rock, and intricately 
decorated with columns and statues.  

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For a building with such a large exterior, 
the inside of the Treasury is curiously small.  

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Only one main room and two smaller 
chambers branch off to the sides,  

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giving little clue as to its original purpose. 
It was once thought to be a royal tomb,  

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but it may have been used for 
religious and ceremonial purposes. 
 

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There was more to Petra than temples and tombs, 
and not everything was carved into the cliffs.  

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There were houses, marketplaces, churches, and 
even a theater, many of them freestanding in  

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a more familiar style. At its height, Petra may 
have been home to as many as 30,000 people. 

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Like all civilizations, however, 
Petra couldn't last forever,  

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and its downfall came in the 
form of the Roman Empire. 

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In 63 B.C, a Roman general led his army to Petra, 
and successfully defeated the Nabateans.  

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The Romans then took control of the city 
and made it a part of their vast empire.  

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Despite the defeat, Petra's architectural and 
engineering marvels continued to be admired  

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and studied by the Romans. It wasn't until 
a massive earthquake hit the city in 363 AD,  

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destroying many of the freestanding buildings 
and crippling the water supply system  

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that Petra's decline began in earnest. 
The trade goods that had made Petra so wealthy  

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no longer traveled through the desert via 
caravan, and were instead transported by sea.  

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Without this money coming in, Petra continued to 
deteriorate and was mostly abandoned by 700 AD,  

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about 1,000 years after it was founded. 
For centuries, Petra lay empty.  

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In 1812, Swiss geographer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt 
was traveling from Nazareth to Cairo when he heard  

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a rumor of a fabulous city hidden in the desert, 
carved out of the very stone of the cliffs.  

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He disguised himself as a Muslim 
pilgrim and set off on his journey.  

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After weeks of traveling through the harsh desert,  

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he was able to hire a guide who took him through 
a narrow canyon that led him to the city. 

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As he walked through the canyon, he was amazed 
at the towering rock structures that loomed  

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above him. He saw the famous Treasury building, 
carved into the side of a mountain and adorned  

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with intricate sculpture. He explored the city as 
much as he could without revealing his identity:  

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he was the first European to lay 
eyes on Petra in hundreds of years,  

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and his discovery sparked a renewed 
interest in the ancient city.
 

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Thanks to Burckhardt's discovery, 
Petra is now a World Heritage Site,  

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attracting hundreds of 
thousands of visitors each year.  

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With its unique architecture, 
its advanced water systems,  

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and its rich history, Petra is truly a wonder 
to behold. As excavations at the site continue,  

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there is no telling how much more of its 
history will be discovered in the future.