Petra is the ancient city carved into rose-red cliffs in present-day Jordan.
Petra was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom, an Arab state that controlled important trade routes across the deserts of the Middle East. Its buildings and tombs were cut into sandstone cliffs, while an ingenious water system collected, stored, and channelled scarce rainfall. The city’s most famous approach passes through a narrow gorge called the Siq.
The structure known as the Treasury is Petra’s best-known facade, but it was probably a monumental tomb rather than a treasury. Other major features include the Monastery, the Royal Tombs, a theatre, and the Colonnaded Street. Petra also contains evidence of later Roman and Byzantine occupation.
Rome annexed the Nabataean Kingdom in 106 CE. Petra gradually declined as trade routes changed and earthquakes damaged its infrastructure. Western awareness grew after Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited in 1812. UNESCO designated Petra a World Heritage Site in 1985.