Petra

Petra is, without exaggeration, one of the most extraordinary human creations. Capital of the Nabataean kingdom from the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD, it prospered thanks to its strategic position on the caravan routes that linked southern Arabia (frankincense, myrrh), India (spices) and the Mediterranean. But what makes it unique in the world is its geology and the architectural use the Nabataeans made of it: carved into a spectacular massif of pink-orange sandstone, accessible only via a natural canyon (the Siq) 1.2 kilometres long and sometimes only 3 metres wide, the city developed funerary and religious architecture entirely sculpted into the cliff. The traveller walking through the Siq suddenly discovers, at the final turn of the canyon, the rose façade of the Khazneh (Treasury): 40 metres high, six Corinthian columns, a pediment carved with breathtaking precision into the living rock. No photograph captures this first visual shock, which remains one of the most intense moments of modern travel.

But Petra is not limited to the Khazneh. The site covers more than 264 km² and requires at minimum two days of visit to glimpse the essentials. Beyond the Treasury extends the Roman colonnaded street (Petra was conquered by Trajan in 106), the theatre carved into the rock (4,000 seats), the Palace Tomb, the Silk Tomb with hallucinatory colours, the imposing Royal Tombs, and after 800 steps of ascent, the immense Monastery (Ad Deir) — 47 metres high, even bigger than the Khazneh — which dominates a breathtaking panorama over the Edom mountains. Listed as UNESCO world heritage in 1985, voted one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World in 2007 by 100 million online votes, Petra is on the list of the five most visited archaeological sites in the world — and is, for any serious traveller, one of those destinations to see once in a lifetime.