Petra
Was the secret of the local Bedouin for hundreds of years
until the Swiss explorer Johann Burkhardt ‘rediscovered’
it in 1812. The vast Petra region, covering some 650 square
kilometers, 160 square kilometers of which is a national park,
contains over 800 individual monuments and it is believed that
only one quarter of it has yet been excavated. It remains an
eternal tribute to a lost civilization. It has an enormous
amount to offer everybody – those interested in archaeology,
geology, art, water engineering, agricultural techniques,
nature and landscape or just the sheer beauty and majesty of
the place.
Dean
Burgon, the Victorian poet and traveler, gave Petra a
description which holds to this day, “Match me such marvel
save in eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time
…” |