Nabatean tombs in Petra - stock photo

Jordan, October 2018. Petra is an archaeological site in Jordan, located about 250 km south of the capital Amman, built 2000 years ago in a basin between the mountains east of Wadi Araba. Its Semitic name was Reqem or Raqmu, also attested in the Qumran manuscripts. It was born as a trading center and prospered thanks to the control of the commercial routes that connected Arabia with Syria, Egypt and Mesopotamia. The city has been carved into the rock and features numerous monumental buildings such as the Treasury, the Monastery and the Roman Theater. Petra was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.