Petra is the ancient city in Jordan famous for buildings carved into rose-coloured rock.
The Nabataeans established Petra as their capital by at least the 2nd century BCE. Its position between Arabia, the Levant, Egypt, and the Mediterranean allowed it to prosper as a trading centre, especially through the movement of frankincense, myrrh, spices, and textiles.
The city’s most recognizable monument is Al-Khazneh, or the Treasury, whose elaborate façade was cut into sandstone. Despite its popular name, it was probably a royal tomb rather than a literal treasury. Petra also contains the Monastery, tombs, temples, colonnaded streets, and a sophisticated water-management system that included channels, cisterns, and dams.
Petra declined after changing trade routes and major earthquakes weakened the city. It became less known outside the region until Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited in 1812. UNESCO listed Petra as a World Heritage Site in 1985, and it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.