From the 4th century BCE until the 2nd century CE, Petra (Greek for "city of rock") was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom. From Petra, the Nabateans controlled the spice trade that extended from Arabia to Aqaba and Petra, and from there either to Gaza in the northwest, or north through Amman to Bostra, Damascus, and then on to Palmyra and the Syrian Desert. Diodorus explains that the Arabs called the Nabataeans were wealthier than other Arabs because of their involvement in spice trade ("frankincense and myrrh and the most valuable kinds of spices") (Diod. 19.94). Access to the city of Petra is through what is known as the siq, a narrow ravine. Two of the best known structures at Petra are the Kazneh, or Treasury, which is a temple carved out of the sandstone, and the theater, which can hold c. 3,000 people.

The Siq at Petra with the Kazneh Visible

The Kazneh

Theater at Petra