Petra, the great Ancient City that lies half-hidden in the wind-blown landscape in southern Jordan, is one of the world's most treasured Unesco Heritage Sites. Voted by popular ballot in 2007 as one of the 'New Seven Wonders of the World', it has retained its magnetism even through times of strife in the wider region.

A visit to Petra when it was rediscovered for the wider world by Jean Louis Burckhardt in the 19th century meant going in disguise, speaking in local dialect and engaging the trust of surrounding tribespeople. Today visitors are welcomed both by the Bedouin who still relate to the Ancient City as home, and by the townspeople of neighbouring Wadi Musa whose facilities make a several-day visit to the Ancient City a pleasure. With nearby Nabataean attractions at so-called Little Petra, desert camping and numerous hiking opportunities, at least two days should be allowed to do Petra justice.

Petra is a famous archaeological site in Jordan's southwestern desert. Dating to around 300 B.C., it was the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom. Accessed via a narrow canyon called Al Siq, it contains tombs and temples carved into pink sandstone cliffs, earning its nickname, the ""Rose City."" Perhaps its most famous structure is 45m-high Al Khazneh, a temple with an ornate, Greek-style facade, and known as The Treasury.