Petra is a historical and archaeological city that located in Southern Jordan. The city is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved. Its majestic facade hidden behind huge rocks, approachable only by a small opening, this city built thousands of years back in the desert of Jordan still holds all the magic and mystery that its builders left behind. It probably all began with wate. A necessary ingredient especially in the desert. With just six inches of rainfall in the year, the builders of this strange city managed to utilise the water with expertly designed engineering conduits that supplied water to 20,000 people and furthermore was capable of supplying water to any modern city of hundred thousand people today. Petra means ‘rock’ in Greek and also comes from the Arab word ‘al-batra’. Located 250 kilometres from the Jordanian capital Amman, it was the capital of the Nabataea Empire from 400BCE to 106CE. Being at the intersection of two important trade routes, one from western Asia and the other north from southern Arabia, it gave great opportunity to the astute rulers to collect taxes and further improve trade. They traded in textiles, incense, precious metals, ivory and spices in caravans on land and even on sea with the help of ancient sea vessels known as dhows. Petra was first discovered in 1812 by a Swiss geographer Johannes L. Burckhardt, yet mystery about the origins of these Nabatean people remains. Before they came in the area it was inhabited by the Edomites but it was the Nabatean people who carved this rose coloured city. The majestic empire was also rocked by several earthquakes, which led to the empire’s decline. And then they suddenly disappeared into the unknown pages of history where they came from. The ancient name for Petra was Rekiem which also appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls. But the builders kept their trade secrets and all other information that they valued from the world.
When an arid land or dead soil might look inhospitable, it can be alive with plants when water is provided to it. Then the soil is alive with proper water management system.
Ong Li Ching (BS16110456) Petra located at a crossroads of the ancient Near East. There are always have camel caravans passed through, loaded with spices, textiles and incense from distant regions. Its people, the Nabataeans, harnessed precious water, enabling the population to soar to perhaps 20,000 people. the Nabataeans is a group of Arabian nomads, who led fruitful lives as desert traders. Scant clues exist to reveal exactly where these migrants originated, but it is clear that they had acquired control of the ancient incense and spice trade throughout the Arabian Peninsula by the first century BC. As city dwellers, the Nabataeans took pride in their prosperity. Inscriptions carved in stone list religious offerings of silver and gold, and monumental rock-cut tombs at Petra and the city of Hegra reveal that the Nabataeans had great wealth and power. Petra was their crown jewel, the thriving capital of Nabataea. The spectacular ruins of Petra, chiseled by hand into the sandstone cliffs of southern Jordan, are testimony to Nabataean engineering and artistry in the form of freestanding temples and nearly 3,000 rock-cut tombs, dwellings, banquet halls, altars, and niches. Not only were these structures elaborately carved but they were also covered with stucco and brightly painted, creating a spectacle of brilliant facades set against a backdrop of rose-colored cliffs. Petra was a settlement whose streets and architecture sprawled along winding gullies and up steep cliffs. The Nabataeans developed the technology to harness natural springs to sustain fertile crops, lush gardens, and an impressive system of pools and reservoirs, all of which supported a booming population. At its height, around AD 50, the city and its environs boasted as many as 20,000 residents.
HAYATI BINTI HARON (BS16110598)
ReplyDeletePetra is a historical and archaeological city that located in Southern Jordan. The city is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved.
Its majestic facade hidden behind huge rocks, approachable only by a small opening, this city built thousands of years back in the desert of Jordan still holds all the magic and mystery that its builders left behind. It probably all began with wate. A necessary ingredient especially in the desert. With just six inches of rainfall in the year, the builders of this strange city managed to utilise the water with expertly designed engineering conduits that supplied water to 20,000 people and furthermore was capable of supplying water to any modern city of hundred thousand people today.
Petra means ‘rock’ in Greek and also comes from the Arab word ‘al-batra’. Located 250 kilometres from the Jordanian capital Amman, it was the capital of the Nabataea Empire from 400BCE to 106CE. Being at the intersection of two important trade routes, one from western Asia and the other north from southern Arabia, it gave great opportunity to the astute rulers to collect taxes and further improve trade. They traded in textiles, incense, precious metals, ivory and spices in caravans on land and even on sea with the help of ancient sea vessels known as dhows.
Petra was first discovered in 1812 by a Swiss geographer Johannes L. Burckhardt, yet mystery about the origins of these Nabatean people remains. Before they came in the area it was inhabited by the Edomites but it was the Nabatean people who carved this rose coloured city.
The majestic empire was also rocked by several earthquakes, which led to the empire’s decline. And then they suddenly disappeared into the unknown pages of history where they came from. The ancient name for Petra was Rekiem which also appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls. But the builders kept their trade secrets and all other information that they valued from the world.
When an arid land or dead soil might look inhospitable, it can be alive with plants when water is provided to it. Then the soil is alive with proper water management system.
DeleteThank You Hayati.
Ong Li Ching (BS16110456)
ReplyDeletePetra located at a crossroads of the ancient Near East. There are always have camel caravans passed through, loaded with spices, textiles and incense from distant regions. Its people, the Nabataeans, harnessed precious water, enabling the population to soar to perhaps 20,000 people.
the Nabataeans is a group of Arabian nomads, who led fruitful lives as desert traders. Scant clues exist to reveal exactly where these migrants originated, but it is clear that they had acquired control of the ancient incense and spice trade throughout the Arabian Peninsula by the first century BC. As city dwellers, the Nabataeans took pride in their prosperity. Inscriptions carved in stone list religious offerings of silver and gold, and monumental rock-cut tombs at Petra and the city of Hegra reveal that the Nabataeans had great wealth and power. Petra was their crown jewel, the thriving capital of Nabataea.
The spectacular ruins of Petra, chiseled by hand into the sandstone cliffs of southern Jordan, are testimony to Nabataean engineering and artistry in the form of freestanding temples and nearly 3,000 rock-cut tombs, dwellings, banquet halls, altars, and niches. Not only were these structures elaborately carved but they were also covered with stucco and brightly painted, creating a spectacle of brilliant facades set against a backdrop of rose-colored cliffs.
Petra was a settlement whose streets and architecture sprawled along winding gullies and up steep cliffs. The Nabataeans developed the technology to harness natural springs to sustain fertile crops, lush gardens, and an impressive system of pools and reservoirs, all of which supported a booming population. At its height, around AD 50, the city and its environs boasted as many as 20,000 residents.