Petra
Petra
About this place
On a panel in situ : "It is named after the Roman Governor of the Province of Arabia, who was in office at the time of Hadrian in AD 127. The Latin inscription above the doorway states that the monument was built by his son, following the will of his father. A carved head of a fertility goddess is on the segmented pediment and is crowned by an (eroded) eagle. A niche is carved in the rear wall".
Brief description
Source : http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/326
Inhabited since prehistoric times, this Nabataean caravan-city, situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, was an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. It is one of the world's most famous archaeological sites, where ancient Eastern traditions blend with Hellenistic architecture.