Highlights - Essential Info - Itineraries - History
Petra
In a spectacular setting deep inside a narrow desert gorge, Petra was built by the Nabateans, an industrious Arab people, more than 2000 years ago. They dominated the trade routes of ancient Arabia and Petra became widely known and admired for the refined culture, impressive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels.
In 106 AD Petra was taken by the Romans who built a theatre, a colonnaded street, baths and a variety of other buildings. During the Byzantine period a number of Nabatean buildings were altered for Christian use, but by the time of the Muslim invasion of the 7th Century, Petra had passed into obscurity and apart from the Crusaders briefly coming in during the 12th Century and building a fort, Petra was lost to the world. It was only in 1812 when a Swiss traveller named Johann Ludwig Burckhardt found the ruins of the lost city and it became known to the world again.
Our preferred hotels include:
Movenpick Resort Petra
Movenpick Nabatean Castle Hotel
Marriott Hotel Petra
