Petra, the ancient capital of the Nabataean kingdom, is a city carved into pink sandstone cliffs, nestled within Ma'an Governorate in southern Jordan. Thriving from the first century BCE onward through the incense and spice caravan trade, the city was annexed by Rome in 106 CE before gradually declining and eventually being abandoned. Access is through the Siq, a natural gorge 1.2 kilometers long, which opens onto the Khazneh, a monumental 43-meter-high facade carved in the first century. The site, which counts more than 3,000 rock-cut monuments including 600 tombs, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985 and was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
