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Petra, the rock city
in the Jordanian desert,
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has been a UNESCO
World Heritage Site since 1985.
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It was hewn from solid rock
and was the capital of the Nabataeans.
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It lay in the middle of the network
of oriental trade routes
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and was a magnificent
metropolis during antiquity.
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The Nabataeans were
in the first millennium BC
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came from Yemen to the East Bank.
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Her raids on caravans were feared.
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Later they offered escorts to the dealers
and started exchanging goods themselves.
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They became rich
and built themselves a luxurious city.
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It included rock temples,
a processional street,
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free-standing temples,
a Byzantine basilica
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and unique mausoleums.
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Petra was strategically brilliant:
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Because it could only be entered
through a narrow gorge, called the Siq.
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So the city was impregnable.
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In the walls on the side
you can see gullies,
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part of a sophisticated canal system.
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The Siq leads directly
to the treasure house.
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So called because people
suspected it contained treasure.
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Today archaeologists know
that it is the tomb of a royal family.
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Here you can clearly see Greek influences
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like Corinthian columns,
two half-gables and a round temple.
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The relief figures are
unfortunately badly weathered.
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Around the second century BC
expansion of the rock city began.
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It had more than
20,000 residents at its peak.
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The Romans, built a theater
and made Petra the capital of a province.
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Frankincense from Arabia,
silk from China and spices from India
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had made the Nabataeans rich.
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Archaeologists continue to research
the rock city of Petra in Jordan.