Petra


 * [[image:petra.jpg width="400" height="263" align="right"]]Where is Petra located?

It is located in the deserts of Jordan


 * Who were its inhabitants?

The Nabataeans


 * What is/are its characteristics?

They were a group of Arabian nomads as a desert traders and they had acquired control of the ancient incense and spice trade all over the Arabian Peninsula and also they were one of the most civilized peoples of antiquity.They harnessed precious water, enabling the population to soar to perhaps 20,000. They also rected monumentaltombs, memorializing their kings and leaders.


 * How important were tombs in Petra? What did they mean?

They were very important because they memorialize their kings and leaders, they symbolize the eternity of the kings.


 * How did this city become an urban center?

This city become an urban center by the end of the first century BC. The city grew along the natural contours of the landscape. The Nabataeans paved the road through the Siq, enabling wheeled vehicules to import quarried limestone used in city construction


 * How was this city organized/planned?

The planners did their best to impose an urban grid on this sprawling settlement. The Colonnade Street in Petra symbolize Rome's political presence because this is based on the straight road along the central marketplace that Rome's cities have.