GENERAL INFORMATION

Petra was one of the most important cities in the Middle East, 2000 years ago. It is located in modern day Jordan and was the capital of the Nabataei people. It was a great trading centre and became a very wealthy town. It took the Romans many years to conquer as the only way into the town is through a very narrow gorge, approximately one kilometre in length, called ‘Wadi-Musa’. Consequently, Petra was easy to defend and dangerous to any attacker.

The town is now a wilderness inhabited by members of the Bedouin Tribe and visiting tourists. Many of its magnificent buildings have survived as they were carved from the sandstone valley sides. These buildings are decorated in great detail and clearly show how technologically advanced the Nabataei people were.

The Treasury -
taken from the gorge

The most impressive building is called the ‘Treasury’. Anyone visiting Petra will not fail to be impressed at its sight as they come out of the gorge into the open valley. It is an immense size and eight/nine people stood shoulder to shoulder can pass through its only entrance without any difficulty. The rooms are very large and they are perfectly carved out of the sandstone (cuboid in shape).

The magnificent Treasury building

Over twenty thousand people lived in Petra at its height and when the Romans eventually conquered it in A .D. 105 rather than destroy it they continued to carve buildings and tombs into the valley sides.
At the end of the valley is ‘the nine hundred steps’. This is only for the ‘fit and well’. The walk up these is arduous but well worthwhile as it ends with the view of a very large monastery, again, carved from the sandstone cliffs.

1. Find a map of Jordan and draw a simplified version, clearly showing the location of Petra.
2. Research Petra using the internet, library etc... And write a brief history of this trading centre.
3. Draw a simplified ‘modern’ map of the Middle East and clearly label all the countries.
4. Draw a simplified ‘historical’ map of the Middle East, based on the time when Petra was a great trading town (2000 years ago).