PETRA JORDAN

• Petra, Jordan is a popular extension for many tours to Egypt, particularly when visiting the Sinai.
• This is a unique, pink and salmon colored 2,000 year old rock-carved city that served as the capital of the Nabataean Arabs and flourished for many hundreds of years.
• Petra is not only about the Nabataeans. The greater Petra region, though not necessarily Petra itself, was inhabited by people throughout the full sweep of human civilization. At Beidha, are the excavated remains of an entire Stone Age village dating to about 6,500 BC.
• The Edomite village on Umm Al Biyara dates from 600-700 BC. Also to the east is the Roman legion fortress at Udruh, which continued to be used in the Byzantine and early Islamic eras. There are even two 12th Century AD Crusader castles at Petra itself.
• As well as the Temple of the Winged Lions, it may in fact be a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess, Isis, built to honor the Roman emperor, Hadrian.
• From its origins as a fortress city, Petra became a wealthy commercial crossroads between the Arabian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures. Control of this vital trade route between the upland areas of Jordan, the Red Sea, Damascus and southern Arabia was the lifeblood of the Nabatean Empire and brought Petra its fortune.
• The treasures the Nabateans accrued allowed them to carve the monumental temples, tombs and administrative that we see today.
• We know that the Christian occupation of the region took place probably during the mid 5th century, around 447 AD due to red painted consecration inscriptions in the "Palace Tomb" notes.
• During the 12th century, the area had become known as the Valley of Moses, probably due to the linking of the site to the biblical tradition of the Exodus by early Christian residents!!!!!