Petra

Stuck between a rock and a hard place in the unforgiving deserts of Petra, near modern-day Wadi Musa, Jordan, the Nabataean dream of a glorious royal city is at first little more than a very grand mirage. Standing at the crossroads of the Near East, This documentary reveals how these ancient Semitic people turn the history of architecture on its head to create one of the most awe-inspiring monuments in the world, the Khazneh.

The Nabatean people of Petra turn the history of architecture on its head to create one of the most awe-inspiring monuments in the world, the Khazneh.

Discover the history of engineering Petra – how the Nabataean held back flash floods to protect their great monument, and why clues hidden deep in the building reveal a great king whose vision created this masterpiece. This documentary investigates how human resourcefulness and courage created one of the world’s most magnificent ancient megastructures, the Khazneh, built between 100 BC and 106 AD.

Petra sits between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, an important trading point between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. Inhospitable mountains and desert surround this ancient archeological site, described as a mixture ancient Eastern traditions and Hellenistic architecture.