Petra [antikvár]

PETRA REDISCOVEREDPetra, the "rose-red city" of the ancient Nabataean civilisation, lies in the south of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordán. East of Wadi Araba and a part of the Great Rift Valley, the stone city is 100 kilometres from the shimmering shores of the Aqaba Gulf. It is little wonder that Petra, nestled in the cradle of rugged hills, was hidden to Europeans - though never to the wandering bedouin.In 1812 Petra was "re-discovered" by a young and intrepid Swiss explorer, John Lewis Burckhardt, who, after spending years studying Arabic and Islam, embarked on his journey to explore the Middle East, passing himself off as a Muslim from India. As he tread across Jordán towards Cairo, Burckhardt heard tales of a mystical city cloistered by impenetrable moun-tains. His curiosity aroused, Burckhardt told his suspicious local bedouin guides he wanted to offer sacrifice at the nearby Tomb of the Prophet Aaron and on those pretensions entered the forgottén city of Petra.Seeing the ruins, Burckhardt realised he had re- discovered the time-worn city of Petra; and, keeping his excitement con-cealed, he cooly recorded the ruins. Burckhardt's account, published in 1882 - five years after his death from dysentery in Cairo excited interest in Europe and inspired a long line of travellers in the years to come.