Stunning Stone Monuments of Petra | National Geographic

less than 1m read

·Nov 11, 2024

Deep within Jordan's desert canyons lies an ancient treasure: the stone city of Petra. This massive hand-carved metropolis provides a window into an ancient civilization. A hidden network of tombs, monuments, and elaborate religious structures are carved into the sandstone cliffs. Believed to have been settled as early as 9000 BC, it developed into a thriving capital of the Nabataean kingdom. This culture ruled much of modern-day Jordan from the 3rd century BC until the 1st century AD.

It's a three-hour drive from the capital city of Amman and 2 hours from the Red Sea port town of Aqaba. Reducing Petra to a single day trip is a common mistake. The site spreads out over a hundred square miles, four times the size of Manhattan. Spend at least one night in Wadi Musa, the closest town to the site, and plan your sightseeing as a series of steep terrain hikes.

Wild donkeys, camels, and horse buggies can hasten travel time between highlights. Most of the sites are best reached on foot. Licensed guides have exceptional knowledge and can add a deeper dimension to your visit by showing you secret tombs and hidden details. Sunrise and sunset are when Petra truly glows, so come early and stay late.

my 6am productive morning routine

Revolutions 101 | National Geographic

View All

Dilating in 3D | Solid geometry | High school geometry | Khan Academy

Let’s say I have some type of a surface. Let’s say that this right over here is the top of your desk, and I were to draw a triangle on that surface. So maybe the triangle looks like this, something like this. It doesn’t have to be a right triangle, and so…

When Life Hurts, Care Less About It | The Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

Once the most powerful man in the known world, Marcus Aurelius attempted to live virtuously, following Stoic principles. Unlike many Roman Emperors, he did not indulge in the many pleasures he had access to, like getting drunk on wine and watching sadisti…

Office Hours at Startup School 2013 with Paul Graham and Sam Altman

We have to sit up straight. We have lower, since this is not right. Admiral Rickover would not stand for this. Um, okay. Uh, George, Nick, what are you working on? So we are building a multiplayer programming game for teaching people how to code. So lik…

Synesthesia: The 6th Sense

These are the words of one Albert Einstein. His love for music is well documented. There are many pictures of him indulging himself in the tones of his violin, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world. As anyone who has ever loved music would know, ou…

Mughal rule in India | 1450 - Present | World History | Khan Academy

As we’ve talked about in other videos, by the time we get into the 15th century, Timur’s Persia and Central Asia has been fragmented. You have many of Timur’s descendants with their own kingdoms, especially in Central Asia. In 1483, in the Central Asian c…

Dividing fractions and whole number word problems

We are told that Billy has one fourth of a pound of trail mix. He wants to share it equally between himself and his brother. How much trail mix would they each get? So pause this video and try to figure that out. All right, now let’s work through this to…

Stunning Stone Monuments of Petra | National Geographic

More Articles