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S i t e s   i n   J o r d a n 
Petra & Wadi Rum 

Petra   Wadi rum 

The ancient Nabatean City of Petra, in the southern part of the kingdom (275km) from Amman, is Jordan's most famous tourist attraction. Known as the "rose red city", it was once a fortress, carved out of craggy rocks in an area which was virtually inaccessible. 
The city was first settled around 800 BC by the Nabatean tribe from northern Arabia, and the city reached the peak of its fame during the second century, under Roman rule. A succession of habitation, leadership and development followed, but as the caravan routes were slowly displaced by shipping, the city's importance gradually dwindled; it fell into disuse and was lost to the world for over a thousand years. In 1812 it was re-discovered by the Swiss explorer, Johan Ludwig Burckhardt and is now a favorite with tourists from all over the world.

The Nabataeans were builders of great skill, carving their city from the living rock. Working form the top down, they sliced off huge slabs of stone, using the two-meter ledge thus formed as scaffolding for the masons to stand on. Entablatures and capitals were carved before another slab was removed in the same way to make another platform, from which facades and columns were carved and the deep chambers beyond were hollowed out. In this way, the builders were able to descend ten story's to the valley floor below. Petra is approached through a narrow, deep gorge or siq, which winds for about 1 km through a massive wall of rock. This is at some points less than three metres wide and its vertical wall tower to a height of 70 meters, making Petra one of the best defended cities of all time.

Rum Nature Reserve 

Majestic Wadi Rum is a vast silent landscape of ancient riverbeds and pastel colored stretches of sandy desert. Here is an unspoiled natural beauty forged by millions of years of geological formation, erosion and evolution. This is also home for the semi-nomadic Bedouin living in their great goat's hair tents, tending their herds of sheep and goat and preserving ancient life style that has been practiced in the Arabian desert for thousands of years.

 

Wadi Rum is a vast house of clues from the past -- for almost every valley, mountain-side or large fallen boulder has some vestige or hint of human activity that took place here during the past several thousand years. Everywhere there are Thamudic, Safaitic, Nabataean, Greek and Arabic graffiti and some formal inscriptions. A rich repertoire of rock art depicting hunting scenes, cultic symbols or just the fanciful creations of a passing shepherd or soldier. Sophisticated hydraulic works such as dams and water channels, simple stone burials, remnants of little houses rudimentary Stone Age rock shelter, and even an elaborate Nabataean temple. More recently, Rum was the scene of the exploits of Lawrence of Arabia during World War I , and the setting for the film that carried his name.
Wadi Rum has recently been discovered by the world's mountain climbers and hikers, attracted by its many as yet unscaled peaks, spectacular natural scenery, ease of access, comfortable year-round climate and a variety of available desert Bedouin camps, walks, climbs… etc.

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