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"Petra: a wonderful town" a Petra Travel Page by Cristian_Uluru

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"Petra: a wonderful town" a Petra Travel Page by Cristian_Uluru

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Cristian_Uluru    
Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.


Real Name: Cristian
Lives In: Italy
Member Since: Sep 27, 2004
VT Rank: 32

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Page Views: 7,372            Last Visit to Petra: March, 2005      

Petra: a wonderful town

by Cristian_Uluru - last update: Sep 8, 2006

Petra is also knows as the Pink Town thanks the fantastic colors of the rock. It's a fantastic experience to walk across the Siq and to see above you cliff 100 meters high. Another great experience is to see Al-Khazneh and Royal Tombs....it's fantastic to see these tombs build in the rock. They are very very big and pictures can't give the real size of these monuments. To walk in Petra it is a unique experience that it's very difficult to describe and pictures can only give you an idea of what really is this great fantastic town build inside mountains!!!!

You can spend in Petra at least one day and you can see only the MUST of Petra (Siq, Al-Khazneh, the Royal Tombs and Romans ruins) and also Al-Deir. If you can visit Petra in two or more days you can see much more (like the Snake Tomb and more) and much better all the wonderful of the town!!!!!!

PETRA: a fantastic moment of life!!!
Cardo M;aximus and Temenos' Gateway

Some of history...

Petra was first established by Edomites, a group of people that lived in the area between Aqaba Gulf and Dead Sea in the 13th century BC and they didn't allow to Israeli people to reach the Holy Land. When David became king, Israeli took this land. But when King Salomon died, Edomites took indipendence and the King of the Kingdom of Jude took the city of Sela and from this city probably become the name of Petra because in Greek it mean rock . At the begining of 6th century BC, the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and they defeted the Edomites and they laid the foundations of a commercial empire that extended into Syria. Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to bring Petra under the control of their respective empires, Petra remained largely in Nabataean hands until around 100AD, when the Romans took over and with emperor Adrian the city was call Hadriana Petra. It was still inhabited during the Byzantine period, when the former Roman empire moved its focus east to Constantinople, but declined in importance thereafter. The Crusaders constructed two forts there in the 12th century, but soon withdrew, leaving Petra to the local people until the 1812, when it was discovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

Al-Beid

When you finish to visit and to discover all the wonders of Petra and you have got time, the best way to spend this time is to visit Al-Beid, it is also call Little Petra. This city is smaller than Petra but it's very nice. You can enjoy walking inside the small Siq and discover Nabataean houses and wonderful landscape. Just few meter far from the Siq of Little Petra there are the ruins of a Neolitic Village (9000 BC) call Al-Beidha.

Enjoy yourself walking in the eighth wonder of the world!!!!
Al-Beid: a temple

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Cristian_Uluru's Petra Travel Tips

OverviewThings to Do
Tips: 35 - Photos: 35
 
Restaurants
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
Hotels & Accommodations
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
 
NightlifeOff The Beaten Path
Tips: 15 - Photos: 15
 
Tourist Traps
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
Warnings Or Dangers
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
 
Transportation
Tips: 2 - Photos: 2
Local Customs
Tips: 2 - Photos: 2
 
Packing ListsShopping
 
Sports TravelGeneral Tips

Cristian_Uluru's Petra Travelogues
Title [Click to view]Travel YearPictures
Djinn Blocks and Al-SiqMarch, 2005 8
The Treasury & Street of facades & TheatreMarch, 2005 8
Royal TombsMarch, 2005 8
The Roman ruinsMarch, 2005 8
Al Deir: the MonasteryMarch, 2005 8

Comments for Cristian_Uluru about Petra
jumpingnorman Thu Jul 23, 2009 18:50 UTC
 Liked how you describes seeing Petra --- after camel caravan and nicehses, appears the wodner of PETRA! Awesome trip you had - so lucky you! Norman :)
Kuznetsov_Sergey Tue May 19, 2009 17:38 UTC
 Thank you Cristian for bringing back sweet memories about this magnificent place! I happened to visit it month ago and was amazed by its numerous sights. Your page shows almost all of them!
grovier Wed Jul 30, 2008 15:20 UTC
 Bravo christian for this splendid page...I'll be there in November...
nora_south_africa Mon Apr 28, 2008 19:07 UTC
 wonderful Petra page and tips!!
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