Petra, Jordan - Ad Deir ("The Monastery")

Petra, Jordan - Ad Deir ("The Monastery"), a photo by GlobeTrotter 2000 on Flickr.

Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the southern Jordanian governorate of Ma'an, that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved.

Established possibly as early as 312 BCE as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as its most-visited tourist attraction. Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.
The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate Prize-winning poem by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage".

Ad Deir ("The Monastery") is a monumental building carved out of rock in the ancient Jordanian city of Petra. Built by the Nabataeans in the 1st century and measuring 50 metres wide by approximately 45 meters high, architecturally the Monastery is an example of the Nabatean Classical style. It is the second most visited building in Petra after Al Khazneh.