PETRA - JORDAN

Group Members: Ayeisha (2)

Kamila (8)
Prapaporn (14)
Tumpa (26)
Sachin (29)
 Introduction
 Brief Description
 History
 Value of Petra + Criteria
 Reflection
.

•Petra is well-known as
the City of a Rocks, as
the whole city is made of
rocks

•It’s near a little village

called “Wady Musa”

•With its neatly terraced

gardens and vineyards
looking more like a
model than reality,
showing only a glimpse of
•Rocks weathered by
times into rounded
masses look like domed
towers

•The valley narrows,

and a sheer cliff in front
provides a spectacular
view

• Rounding a corner, a
great dam built of
carefully dressed blocks
of stone fills the valley
from side to side and
confirms this
impression, but there is
Nabataeans’ Period

•The Nabataeans’ original homeland , lay in northeastern

Arabia.

•They migrated in the 6th century BC, settling in the

mountain fortress of Petra.

•Chief source of the Nabataeans' prosperity and power

was their monopoly on the caravan spice trade

•By the 1st century BC the Nabataean kingdom, was home

to as many as 30,000 people in Petra
•It was during this period that the most impressive
structures of Petra were built, including the
Treasury, the Great Temple and the Qasr el-Bint el-
Faroun

•Key to the city's success was the Nabataeans' ability

to control and conserve water.

•Remains of terracotta piping can be seen along the

walls of the Outer Siq, which was part of an
elaborate system for channeling water around the
city.
Roman period in Petra

•Upon the Roman general Pompey's entry into

Palestine (63 BC), the Nabataean King Aretas III
became a Roman vassal.

•In 105-106 AD the Roman emperor Trajan a

annexed the Nabatean kingdom as part of a major
military campaign on Rome's eastern frontiers,
becoming a roman province.

•However, Bostra (Bozra) became the provincial

capital instead of Petra, which was located in the east
of Jordan river
•In the 1st century, the Siq was paved and the
impressive classical theater was constructed.

•After annexation (to take over), Roman touches

were added to Petra such as the colonnaded cardo
(Main Street).

•A Nabataean-style tomb was built in Petra for the

Roman governor of Arabia and a high-ranking
Roman soldier. The Urn Tomb also dates from this
period (2nd-3rd century).
Early Christian period

•Christianity arrived in the 4th

century, and a Byzantine
church, whose ruins can still be
seen at Petra, was built around
450-500 AD

•Various tombs and temples at

Petra were also used as
churches, including the
Monastery (a cross carved in the
wall gave the structure its
popular name) and the Urn
Tomb (turned into a church in
447).
Islamic and Crusader periods

•Islam arrived in the Arab invasion of

the 7th century. Aaron's tomb, on a
mountain near Petra, is an important
Muslim shrine (holy also to Jews and
Christians) and dates from the 14th
century.

•A Crusader outpost was built in Petra

in the 12th century. After the Crusades,
Petra became a “lost city”, known only
to local Arabs. It would lie hidden from
the Western world for more than 500
years.
 1.Represent a masterpiece of human creative genius

 the ancient Nabataean people built Petra

(carved into the sheer rock face)

 A massive façade, 30m wide and 43m high,

carved out of the sheer, dusky pink, rock-face and
dwarfing everything around it. It was carved in the
early 1st century as the tomb of an important
Nabataean king and represents the engineering
genius of these ancient people.
 2.Human value

These people were well-known for their wisdom,

their writing, their textile industry, their excellent
ceramics, and their skilled metal working.

 The Nabataeans were famous for their skills at

making pottery. Petra was a regional centre for
pottery production
3.Outstanding example of a type of building
architectural

Outstanding architectural achievements, there are

hundreds of elaborate rock-cut tombs with intricate
carvings - unlike the houses, which were destroyed
mostly by earthquakes.

The tombs were carved to last throughout the

afterlife and 500 have survived, empty but bewitching
as you file past their dark openings.
4.Outstanding example of a traditional human
settlement

 Established by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe

who settled in the area and laid the foundations of a
commercial empire that extended into Syria.

 The Crusaders constructed a fort there in the 12th

century, but soon withdrew, leaving Petra to the local
people until the early 19th century
5.Contain natural phenomena (interact with environment)

 The forth between rock spurs are the home of lizards of all
sizes and colours.

 The city is surrounded by towering hills of rust-coloured

sandstone which gave the city some natural protection against
invaders.

 The Treasury, entering the Petra valley people will be

overwhelmed by the natural beauty of Petra
 8.Significant on-going geological process

 the enlargement of the Theatre, paving of the Colonnaded

Street, and a triumphal arch was built over the Siq (seats up to
3,000 people)
 The Nabataeans were a nomadic Arab people from Arabia
who began to arrive and slowly settle in Petra at the end of the
6th century BC. It seems their arrival at Petra was unplanned

9.On-going ecological and biological processes

 They were skilled at water management and built a
complex network of channels and cisterns to bring water
from a plentiful source at Ain Musa several kilometers away
 Reflection
Tumpa:

Prapaporn:

Ayeisha:

Kamila:

Sachin: