Petra

=Petra= =• Where is Petra located?= Deep within the deserts of Jordan =• Who were its inhabitants?=

The Nabataeans =• What is/are its characteristics? (name as many as you can)= o The story of the city of Petra starts with a group of Arabian nomads called the Nabataeans, who led fruitful lives as desert traders. o It was chiseled by hand into the sandstone cliffs of southern Jordan. o Petra’s dwellings, banquet halls, altars and niches were elaborately carved, but they were also covered with stucco and brightly painted, creating a spectacle of brilliant facades set against a backdrop of rose-colored cliffs. o The grand entrances of many tombs in Petra were carved on a giant scale to honor those laid to rest inside. o Petra was a settlement whose streets and architecture sprawled along winding gullies and up steep cliffs. =• How important were tombs in Petra? What did they mean?=

Tombs were very important because it had been constructed to memorize the kings and leaders of Nabataeans. =• How did this city become an urban center?= From its origins as a tent encampment, Petra had become an urban center by the end of the first century, the city grew along the natural contours of the landscape. At this time the Nabataeans paved the road through the Siq, enabling wheeled vehicles to import locally quarried limestone used in city construction. Many of Petra's main architectural features appeared during the reign of King Aretas IV, who was responsible for many of the city's central landmarks. =• How was this city organized/planned?=

As with most other Roman cities, planners did their best to impose an urban grid on this sprawling settlement. The Romans managed to create one straight road along the central marketplace. Flanked by colonnaded porticos, this linear street clearly served as an architectural imprint of Rome. The Colonnaded Street and gateway symbolized Rome's political presence in Petra.

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Petra is one of the oldest cities in Jordan and is set amidst cliffs. In Greek, the meaning of Petra is stone. Petra was occupied in the sixth century C. by the Nabataeans who made it prosper thanks to its location on the route of the caravans carrying frankincense, spices and other luxury items and were experts build tombs for their kings. Here there are many buildings whose facades are carved directly into the rock. Petra was a settlement whose streets and architecture sprawled along winding gullies and up steep cliffs. From the July 7, 2007, Petra is part of the New Seven Wonders of the World.