Vertical folds of Siq - Petra, Jordan
Petra is a town that was built in the southern Jordanian desert in the centuries before Christ. It was built by a people known as the Nabateans. They occupied a broad valley whose southwestern entrance was a set of almost impassable and easily guarded narrow canyons or "siqs". Since this was an important land trade route between Africa and the East, the Nabateans took full advantage of their position and became suppliers of water, food, animals and lodging to travellers and caravans. They became quite wealthy and built an astonishing city of about 30,000 people.
©Gerald Diamond
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