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Petra
ancient city, Jordan
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Also known as: Baṭrā, Sela
Al-Dayr
- Key People:
- Johann Ludwig Burckhardt
- Related Places:
- Jordan ancient Rome ancient Middle East Arabia
Top Questions
Where is Petra located?
What is the biblical name of Petra?
Who rediscovered Petra for the Western world in the modern era?
Is Petra a World Heritage Site?
Petra, Arabic Baṭrā, ancient city, centre of an Arab kingdom in Hellenistic and Roman times, the ruins of which are in southwest Jordan. The city was built on a terrace, pierced from east to west by the Wadi Mūsā (the Valley of Moses)—one of the places where, according to tradition, the Israelite leader Moses struck a rock and water gushed forth. The valley is enclosed by sandstone cliffs veined with shades of red and purple varying to pale yellow, and for this reason Petra was called by the 19th-century English biblical scholar John William Burgon a “rose-red city half as ...(100 of 526 words)