About
Petra, the ancient capital of the Nabataean Kingdom in modern Jordan, is one of the world's most spectacular archaeological sites. Approached through a narrow 1.2 km canyon (the Siq), visitors emerge suddenly before Al-Khazneh (the Treasury) — a 43-meter tall façade carved directly into rose-red sandstone, its proportions and detail astonishing. The city's water system — channels, pipes, and cisterns — allowed 30,000 people to live in the desert.
Petra was lost to the Western world for centuries until Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it in 1812. UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site in 1985. Of Petra's estimated 900 structures, only about 15% have been formally excavated.
# Top 10 Petra Treasury facts
- 1Petra's Siq (entrance canyon) is only 3 meters wide at some points but the Treasury facade is 30 meters wide
- 2The Nabataeans' water system included 200 km of channels and pipes — a marvel of ancient engineering
- 3Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) used the Treasury as the 'temple of the holy grail,' multiplying tourist visits
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Petra's Siq (entrance canyon) is only 3 meters wide at some points but the Treasury facade is 30 meters wide
- ◆The Nabataeans' water system included 200 km of channels and pipes — a marvel of ancient engineering
- ◆Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) used the Treasury as the 'temple of the holy grail,' multiplying tourist visits
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