Petra

Petra (Arabic: البترا, Al-Batrāʾ; Ancient Greek: Πέτρα), originally known as Raqmu to the Nabataeans, 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 BC as the capital city of the Arab Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. It lies on the slope of Jebel al-Madhbah (identified by some as the biblical Mount Hor) in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. 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". Petra was named amongst the New7Wonders of the World in 2007 and was also chosen by the Smithsonian Magazine as one of the "28 Places to See Before You Die".

Petra (given name)

Petra is a feminine given name. It is a feminine form of Peter, which is derived from the Greek word "petros" meaning "stone, rock". It is also a common first name in Germany, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Finland, Macedonia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Name day

June 29 is the name day of Peter and of Petra. October 2 is the name day of Petra in Hungary

Variants

Notable people with this given name

Notable people with this given name include:

Petra Scharbach

Petra Scharbach, best known as Petra, is a German actress, model, singer and painter. She was sometimes credited as Petra Rockstar.

Born in Frankfurt, at 6 moved to Parma with her mother. In Italy, after having participated and won several beauty contests and worked as a model in local fashion shows, debuted in the mid-eighties as singer and softcore actress. In the same period she appeared on the cover of Playmen and of the French edition of Penthouse.

Then she worked for several years with the Riccardo Schicchi's agency Diva Futura and was the main actress in several softcore movies. After some years she left Rome and returned to Parma to host a sport program in TV Parma. During these years she was a protagonist of gossip columns for her relations with the Colombian football player Faustino Asprilla and with American actor Tony Curtis.

In the early 2000s she began a career as a body art painter.

References

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