The City of Petra

The site of petra has been inhabited for at least the last seven thousand years. A fresh water spring rises from the ground here, known as musa's spring and it's held in traditional beliefs to be the place where biblical figure moses once struck a rock with his staff. As rain waters permeate through these porous sandstones, they slowly leach out of the rocks along the paths of least resistance. The very stones of petra's landscape act like enormous water towers, slowly releasing their stores of water through the long dry months of arabian summer. This naturally occurring spring water was enough to support a small population but as the city's importance grew and the trade caravans