PETRA, Jordan — Anyone traveling to Jordan should not miss out on a visit to the ancient city of Petra, located 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of the capital, Amman. This city is the primary tourist attraction in Jordan and won second place in the 2007 international competition of the seven "new" wonders of the world.
Petra is a historic city located in Wadi Musa, whose name derives from the Arabic name for the Prophet Moses. It is the location of the seven springs that — according to tradition — sprang from the site after Moses hit a rock with his cane. The entire city is carved into rose-colored rock, spread over 40 square kilometers (15.4 square miles). Petra was built by the Nabateans in 400 B.C., and they made it the capital of their empire, considered at the time to be one of the greatest civilizations in the world.
Petra is not only distinguished by its Nabatean, Roman and Byzantine ruins but also by the Bedouin population — known as the "Bedul" — who have inhabited the city for hundreds of years. The Bedul are one of the Huwaitat tribes who have historically lived in Petra. They used the land for farming and cattle grazing and lived in the caves to shelter themselves from the cold of winter. The Bedul claim that they are the descendants of the Nabateans and inherited the city from them. They resided in the city's caves until the end of the 20th century. However, some researchers believe that the Bedul are not descendants of the Nabateans, but rather Arabs who came from Egypt 200 to 300 years ago and settled in Petra.
The Bedouins lived in the caves and caverns of Petra — which they called "al-Mughar" — until 1985, when the Jordanian government forced them to evacuate the city's caves and archaeological sites. This was part of a project sponsored by UNESCO and funded by USAID to protect these historic sites from the effects of encroachment. The government established two towns to house them. The first was in Wadi Musa, which the Bedouins moved to in 1978, and the second was Umm Sihon, which the Bedul inhabited in 1985. The authorities moved about 250 families from the caves, providing them free houses in Umm Shihon equipped with necessary services — such as electricity, running water and telephones.
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