a small essay on on of the 7 wonders: Petra
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Answer:
Petra (Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ; Ancient Greek: Πέτρα), originally known to the Nabataeans as Raqmu, is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. The city is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved.
Established possibly as early as 312 BC as the capital city of the Arab Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan’s most-visited tourist attraction. The Nabateans were nomadic Arabs who benefited from the proximity of Petra to the regional trade routes, in becoming a major trading hub, thus enabling them to gather wealth. The Nabateans are also known for their great ability in constructing efficient water collecting methods in the barren deserts and their talent in carving structures into solid rocks. It lies on the slope of Jebel al-Madhbah (identified by some as the biblical Mount Hor) in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.
Answer:
ExpPetra (Arabic: ٱلْبَتْرَاء, romanized: Al-Batrāʾ; Ancient Greek: Πέτρα, "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants in as Raqmu or Raqēmō (),[3][4] is a historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Petra lies around Jabal Al-Madbah in a basin surrounded by mountains which form the eastern flank of the Arabah valley that runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.[5] The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC,[6] and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of their kingdom, as early as the 4th century BC.[7] However, archaeological work has only discovered evidence of Nabataean presence dating back to the second century BC,[8] by which time Petra had become their capital.[6] The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub.[6][9]
The trading business gained the Nabataeans considerable revenue and Petra became the focus of their wealth. The Nabataeans were accustomed to living in the barren deserts, unlike their enemies, and were able to repel attacks by taking advantage of the area's mountainous terrain. They were particularly skillful in harvesting rainwater, agriculture and stone carving. Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its famous Al-Khazneh structure – believed to be the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV – was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants.[10]
Although the Nabataean kingdom became a client state of the Roman Empire in the first century BC, it was only in 106 AD that it lost its independence. Petra fell to the Romans, who annexed Nabataea and renamed it as Arabia Petraea.[11] Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 destroyed many structures. In the Byzantine era several Christian churches were built, but the city continued to decline, and by the early Islamic era it was abandoned except for a handful of nomads. It remained unknown to the West until it was rediscovered in 1812 by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.[12]
Access to the city is through a 1.2-kilometre-long (0.75 mi) gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the Khazneh. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the stone from which it is carved.[13] It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage".[14] In 2007, Al-Khazneh was voted one of the New7Wonders of the World.[15] Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. Tourist numbers peaked at 918,000 in 2010, but there followed a temporary slump during the political instability generated by the Arab Spring, which affected countries surrounding Jordan.[16] Visitor numbers subsequently increased and reached a record-breaking 1.1 million tourists in 2019, marking the first time that the figure rose above the 1 million mark.[17] Tourism in the city was crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic as visitor numbers plummeted to zero since March 2020. The Jordanian government has authorized excavations in front of the treasury to make use of the site's emptiness.[18]
Contents
1 Importance in antiquity
2 Description
2.1 Water control
2.2 Access routes
2.3 City centre
2.4 Huge structure discovered in 2016
3 Tourism
4 Climate
5 History
5.1 Neolithic
5.2 Bronze Age
5.3 Iron Age Edom
5.4 The emergence of Petra
5.4.1 Petra as "Rekem"
5.4.2 Petra as "Sela"
5.5 Roman period
5.6 Byzantine period
5.7 Crusaders and Mamluks
5.8 19th-20th centuries
6 Religion
7 UNESCO listing of ancient Petra and Bedouin heritage
8 Issues
9 Conservation
9.1 Conservation of cultural heritage
10 In popular culture
10.1 Literature
10.2 Plays
10.3 Films
10.4 Television
10.5 Music and musical videos
10.6 Video games
11 3D documentation
12 Gallery
13 See also
14 References
15 External links
Importance in antiquity
Map of Petra
Pliny the Elder and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom and the centre of their caravan trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf.[5]
Description
Water control
Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, creating an artificial oasis. The area is visited by flash floods, but