PETRA, AL KHAZNEH - WORLD HERITAGE SITES - A TO Z

 

  SIQ GORGE, SOUTHERN JORDAN, NABATAEANS CITY

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The Parthenon, ancient Greeks, Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entering Petra through the winding Siq gorge and emerging before the façade of Al-Khazneh (The Treasury) is a big moment for any history lover to savour. This ancient city sandwiched between the Dead and Red Seas was part-built, part-carved out of the red sandstone rock 2,000 years ago by the Nabataean people.

Among its architectural marvels are tombs, temples and public buildings bearing a mix of ancient Greek and Eastern influences, not to mention an ingenious water management system that allowed this desert trading hub to flourish.

Petra was established by the once nomadic Kingdom of the Nabataeans. Carving a city out of the sandstone rocks and cliffs, the Nabataeans settled and made Petra into their capital. The Nabataeans chose this site carefully, selecting a place which was located along the paths of numerous strategic caravan trails.

It is unknown when Petra was first founded, but it was inhabited from prehistoric times and fully established by the fourth century BC, by which time it had achieved fame as an incredible feat of architecture. In 312 BC, Petra was attacked in by Antigonus I Monophthalmos, who had once been a general of Alexander the Great, although he failed to capture it.

Petra continued to thrive under the Nabataeans, growing into a centre of trade with around 300,000 citizens and becoming extremely prosperous. It managed to resist numerous invasions and conquests, including by the Hasmonean Jewish Commonwealth and by the Romans. However, in 106 AD, during the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan, Petra lost its independence as it was absorbed into the Roman Arabian territory.

Petra maintained its status as an important trading centre throughout its time under the Roman Empire. It was only as the empire fell and following a series of earthquakes that Petra declined, at one point being a Crusader stronghold, but eventually forgotten.

 

 

 

 

 

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ACROPOLIS - ATHENS, ANCIENT GREEKS, PARTHENON, TEMPLE ATHENA NIKE

ANGKOR WAT - HINDU BUDDHIST TEMPLE RELIGIOUS COMPLEX, CAMBODIA

CHICHEN ITZA - ANCIENT MAYAN CITY, YUCATAN PENINSULA, MEXICO

COLOSSEUM - ROMAN HISTORIC CITY CENTRE, ROME, PANTHEON, ITALY

EASTER ISLAND - RAPA NUI, POLYNESIAN HEAD STATUES, PACIFIC OCEAN

GREAT WALL OF CHINA - 3RD CENTURY BC EMPEROR QIN SHI HUANG & MING DYNASTY

MACHU PICCHU - PYRAMID, PERU, INCAN LOST CITY, ANDES

PETRA - TREASURY, AL-KHAZNEH, SIQ GORGE, NABATAEANS, SOUTHERN JORDAN

PYRAMIDS - GREAT SPHINX, MEMPHIS NECROPOLIS, GIZA, EGYPT

TAJ MAHAL - MAUSOLEUM BUILT BY SHAH JAHAN, AGRA, INDIA

VATICAN CITY - THE WORLD'S SMALLEST, HOLIEST CHRISTIAN STATE

WESTMINSTER ABBEY - HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, LONDON, ENGLAND

 

TENTATIVE LISTINGS

 

PORT ROYAL - JAMAICAN SUNKEN CITY 1692, PIRATES HISTORY

 

 

 

 

 

 

A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity".

 

 

 

 

 



 OBJECTIVES & POSITIVES

Being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site can positively affect the site, its environment, and interactions between them. A listed site gains international recognition and legal protection, and can obtain funds from among others the World Heritage Fund to facilitate its conservation under certain conditions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTACTS


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LINKS & REFERENCE

 

http://www.unesco.org

https://ioc.unesco.org/

http://www.unesco.org

https://ioc.unesco.org/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT - Due to the pace of development, sometimes significant gaps exist in the records, as to how man leapfrogged from coal fires, to steam, to electricity, computers and finally the renewable energy age, to combat climate change, as the anthropocene age of self destruction looms large, per the Biblical prophecy, Armageddon: the beginning of the end. Unless, we put the economic development brakes on hard, and engage reverse gear - immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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