Petra Makes Push for Seven Wonders Status

Photo of Petra: OceanCreep’s flickr stream. Rights: Creative Commons.

Until last century, Petra was virtually off limits to non-Arab travelers. And in recent years, troubles in the Middle East have kept travelers away. But now that Petra has been shortlisted for the New Seven Wonders of the World list, the Jordanian government is making a push to show off the “rose red city half as old as time.” The BBC’s Jon Leyne reports that Petra “has probably not seen such a buzz of activity since civilised life ended there in the 8th century AD.”

Adam al-Samady, a Jordanian playing a Roman in a historical re-enactment at Petra, explained to Leyne the importance of winning the Seven Wonders contest:

“It is very important, because Jordan is a small country whose whole economy is based on tourism,” he said.

“Unfortunately during these past five years with the war in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, tourism has been completely dead. If Petra becomes one of the seven wonders of the world, I think there will be a big change.”

The BBC has a slideshow of the historical re-enactments at Petra. The New Seven Wonders will be announced July 7, 2007.

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