{"id":15922,"date":"2022-04-28T12:29:18","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T12:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/?p=15922"},"modified":"2023-04-21T14:37:54","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T14:37:54","slug":"petra-jewel-of-the-hashemite-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/petra-jewel-of-the-hashemite-kingdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Petra – Jewel of the Hashemite Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"Approx read: <\/span> 3<\/span> mins<\/span><\/span>

Half built, half excavated, Petra is one of the oldest cities in the world.<\/h2>\n

A visit to Jordan isn\u2019t complete without exploring the city that was lost until 1812 when Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt disguised himself as a Bedouin to infiltrate the mysterious site and then reveal it to the world.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sandstone soliloquy<\/h4>\n

Located between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, Petra was once a city that linked trade and culture between Phoenicia, Egypt and greater Arabia. Locked in by mountains and accessible though narrow passages and gorges, it is one of the world\u2019s most famous archaeological sites.<\/p>\n

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Petra reveals itself as visitors travel through the main entrance known as The Siq.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Narrowing to only 3m in width in places, The Siq is a geological miracle that ends when it opens on to the famous and iconic Treasury.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s said that the best time to experience Petra is at dawn when the site is still and empty of tourists \u2013 that means arriving before 6am and climbing to the best vantage points.<\/p>\n

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The entire site of Petra covers over 60-square kilometres. Most visitors wishing to explore all sectors use the guided camel tours by locals as part of their experience of Petra.<\/p>\n

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Petra, from the Greek word \u2018petros<\/em>\u2019 meaning stone, or rock, is said to have over one thousand distinct colours and hues within its walls.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Although it looks exactly like a Roman creation, local tribes of Nabataens carved into the solid rock over 2,000 years ago to create the magnificent amphitheatre.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u2018Ad Deir\u2019 is the Arabic name for The Monastery<\/em>, though to be built (and dug) sometime after the 3rd<\/sup> century as a Nabataen tomb then later used as a Christian church during the Byzantine era.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Obelisk Tombs were built to host annual feast to commemorate the dead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Unlocking Petra<\/h4>\n

The eroded statues once bore witness to Petra\u2019s golden age. While wind and rain have damaged their former glory, their existence lends valuable information to archaeologists in their understanding of Petra\u2019s long history.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Colonnaded Street was probably once the shopping heart of Petra. Traders and customers gathered here to buy, barter, and transact \u2013 it was a major centre of commerce in the region.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Petra is not only an essential national monument of Jordan, but it also contributes a sizeable portion to the economy as a tourist attraction. Described by UNESCO as \u201cOne of the most precious cultural properties of man\u2019s cultural heritage,\u201d Petra has been a World Heritage Site since 1985.<\/p>\n

photos \u00a9 Mia S. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Tunis \u2013 A tapestry of tradition, culture and community<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Half built, half excavated, Petra is one of the oldest cities in the world. A visit to Jordan isn\u2019t complete without exploring the city that was lost until 1812 when Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt disguised himself as a Bedouin to infiltrate the mysterious site and then reveal it to the world. Sandstone soliloquy Located […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1536],"tags":[1556],"class_list":["post-15922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-travel-2023"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15922"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18118,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15922\/revisions\/18118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}