Jordan contains the ancient city of Petra, famed for its rock-cut architecture.
Petra lies in southern Jordan, between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The Nabataeans established it as their capital and built an important trading center there, using its sheltered valley and access to regional caravan routes. Its most recognizable monument, Al-Khazneh, is carved into a rose-colored sandstone cliff.
Petra was not simply a collection of tombs. Archaeologists have found streets, temples, houses, a theater, a monumental pool complex, and sophisticated water systems. Nabataean engineers used channels, cisterns, and dams to manage the area's irregular rainfall.
Rome annexed the Nabataean kingdom in AD 106, and Petra gradually declined as trade routes changed. An earthquake in 363 damaged major structures. Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt brought the site to wider Western attention in 1812, although local communities had long known it. Petra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.