Petra, Jordan, 1998 Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt

Reclining on a rooftop carved two millennia ago, a Bedouin surveys the realm of the Nabataeans, whose ancient capital beckons from the sands of southern Jordan. Forgotten for centuries, Petra still echoes with mysteries of the past; this immense building, Al Deir (the Monastery), was probably a Nabataean shrine. –From “Petra: Ancient City of Stone,” December 1998, National Geographic magazine


In September 2004 I first mentioned my great interest in Petra especially when I found out about the exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum exhibition Petra: Lost City of Stone (and it’s still online!).

It was later to be presented at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta but I forgot to post about it. The exhibition ended last month:

Widely recognized as the backdrop in the 1989 film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the city of Petra was carved from the red sandstone in the harsh desert cliffs of southern Jordan over two thousand years ago. Petra was the trade crossroads from the 2nd century B.C. through the 3rd century A.D., linking the great civilizations at that time – Greek, Roman, Near Eastern and Egyptian. Located south of the Dead Sea, Petra was unmarked on modern maps until it was rediscovered in 1812. Premiering in Canada at Glenbow Museum in October 2005, Petra: Lost City of Stone was one of only two Canadian venues for this groundbreaking exhibition. Bringing together over 200 objects, including colossal stone sculptures and architectural elements travelling from Jordan for the first time, visitors were able to examine the history and culture of Petra in the most comprehensive exhibition ever presented on this ancient city.

I was reminded of this when mirabilis recently had a great post on Petra, with many exciting new links to explore. If you haven’t already seen them, do go look! Isn’t it great how all this is available to us online?