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              ModernMagellan - December 5th, 2000 
                         The Rock
                http://www.ModernMagellan.com
                                    
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ModernMagellan Contents:
 
 1- Editor's Note
 2- The Rock
  
 
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 1) Editor's Note

This week's Modern Magellan features guest writer Rob Harbison, who 
has written about the Ancient city of Petra. 
We hope that you enjoy this issue. 

Modern Magellan Editorial Team 

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 2) The Rock

The explorer walked through the opening in the towering cliff 
side. The path twisted to the left and to the right for nearly 
a mile; nearly all sunlight was shut out. Then, suddenly, 
through an opening he saw the stunning site of an ancient city, 
lost for almost one thousand years. Indiana Jones? No, but he 
was there in the movies.  The explorer was Johann Burckhardt, 
a Swiss explorer. And the lost ancient city was Petra, "the Rock".

Petra was the capital city of the Nabataeans, a tribe of pre-Roman 
Arabs who dominated the Jordan region around the Sixth century BC.
They carved a wonderland of temples, tombs and elaborate 
buildings out of SOLID ROCK. It was located at the crossroads of 
ancient trade routes, which made the city wealthy from tolls and 
taxes collected from traders. That wealth lured several armies 
bent on conquest. But despite several attempts, Petra remained  
independent until the beginning of the Roman Empire. In 106, the 
Romans led by Emperor Trajan, finally captured Petra, marking the 
beginning of the decline of the city.

Petra was still inhabited during the Byzantine period (A.D. 500 -
A.D. 1500). Two 12th-Century Crusader Castles were built 
within the city. But soon after, Petra was deserted and forgotten.
Many legends surrounded the city, and many explorers tried in vain 
to find it, but it was not until 1812, that Johann Burkhardt, 
guided by some nomads, found his way inside Petra.

The Nabataeans were among the Ancient World's greatest engineers.
Petra is approached through a narrow, deep gorge or siq, which winds 
for about 1km through a massive wall of rock. This is at some points 
less than nine feet wide and its vertical walls tower to a height 
of 600 feet, making Petra one of the best-defended cities of all time. 

At the end of the siq appears the impressive monument of el Khazneh, 
the Treasury. This is believed to be a royal tomb, which was 
carved out of solid rock in the side of the mountain. Beyond 
this, a stairway cut  in the rock takes the visitor to rock-
carved streets lined with hundreds of temples, royal tombs, large 
and small houses, banqueting halls, water channels and 
reservoirs, baths, monumental staircases, markets, arched 
gates, public buildings and paved streets. There is also a 
gigantic Roman theatre, seating 3,000. 

At the ruins of Petra a person can step back in time, and walk 
through a lost world fabulous achievements.  

It is a truly spiritual experience.

Written by Robert Harbison.
robert@ientry.com


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