Today, we visited Petra all morning. The city of Petra was the capital of the Nabataean Arabs in the first century BC It was a major city along the trade route from Asia to Europe. In the first century AD, Romans took over the city and in 363 AD, an earthquake destroyed much of it. We saw only a small section of it. In some places, the Bedouins still inhabit the caves.
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| Nabataean tombs |
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| Carved from sandstone, many of the facades have worn away over time. |
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| On the left, you see a remnant of the intricate waterways used to collect water. |
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| Notice the steps carved in the rock. |
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| This was once a statue of a shepherd and his camel, worn away over time. |
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| More of the water duct system |
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| Just around the curve.... |
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| Called the Treasury, this is the most well preserved facade. |
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| After a two mile walk down to the end, you may ride a camel part of the way back. |
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| A theater in the side of the mountain, most likely built by the Romans |
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| Bedouin children play on the rocks and sell postcards to tourists. |
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| Many opportunities to buy dusty trinkets from Bedouins |
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| A bedouin salesman glued to his cell phone |
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| Walking along the actual road that the Roman built |
In the afternoon, we visited another site called Little Petra, with a few more actual dwelling places, rather than tombs.
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