Petra (rock in Greek; Arabic: Al-Batr) is an archaeological site in Arabah, Aqaba Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. Petra is also one of the new wonders of the world. 

The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was discovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate prize-winning sonnet by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." In 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site.

John Burgon (August 21, 1813 - August 4, 1888), was born in Smyrna Turkey. He attended Worcester College, Oxford. Burgon won the Newdigate Prize for hi sonnet Petra. Burgon had never visited Petra but was able to describe it and capture the imagination of many who yearned to see the "rose-red" city. 

It seems no work of Man's creative hand,
by labor wrought as wavering fancy planned;
But from the rock as by magic grown,
eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!
Not virgin-white like that old Doric shrine,
where erst Athena held her rites divine;
Not saintly-grey, like many a minster fane,
that crowns the hill and consecrates the plain;
But rose-red as if the blush of dawn,
that first beheld them were not yet withdrawn;
The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,
which Man deemed old two thousand years ago,
match me such marvel save in Eastern clime,
a rose-red city half as old as time.

In 106, when Cornelius Palma was governor of Syria, that part of Arabia under the rule of Petra was absorbed into the Roman Empire as part of Arabia Petraea, becoming capital. The native dynasty came to an end. But the city continued to flourish. A century later, in the time of Alexander Severus, when the city was at the height of its splendor, the issue of coinage comes to an end. There is no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to some sudden catastrophe, such as an invasion by the neo-Persian power under the Sassanid Empire. Meanwhile, as Palmyra (fl. 130–270) grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from Petra, the latter declined. It seems, however, to have lingered on as a religious centre. Epiphanius of Salamis(c.315–403) writes that in his time a feast was held there on December 25 in honor of the virgin Chaabou and her offspring Dushara (Haer.51).

The Jordan Valley provides abundant archaeological evidence of occupation by paleolithic and mesolithic hunters and gatherers. A people of neolithic culture, similar to that found around the Mediterranean littoral, introduced agriculture in the region. By the eighth millennium B.C., this neolithic culture had developed into a sedentary way of life. Settlements at Bayda on the East Bank and Jericho on the West Bank date from this period and may have been history's first "cities." Bronze Age towns produced a high order of civilization and carried on a brisk trade with Egypt, which exercised a dominant influence in the Jordan Valley in the third millennium. This thriving urban culture ended after 2000 B.C., when large numbers of Semitic nomads, identified collectively as the Amorites, entered the region, which became known as Canaan. Over a period of 500 years, the nomads encroached on the settled areas, gradually assimilated their inhabitants, and--by the middle of the second millennium--settled in the Jordan Valley, which became a Semitic language area. At about this time, Abraham (known to the Arabs as Ibrahim) and his household entered the area from the direction of Mesopotamia. The Canaanites and others referred to this nomadic group of western Semites as the habiru, meaning wanderers or outsiders. The name Hebrew probably derived from this term. More abrupt was the incursion of the Hyksos from the north who passed through Canaan on their way to Egypt.

The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature aims to conserve the biodiversity of Jordan and integrate its conservation programs with socio-economic development, while promoting wider public support and action for the protection of the natural environment within Jordan and neighboring countries.

The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature is an independent non-profit non-government organization devoted to the conservation of Jordan's natural resources. Established in 1966 under the patronage of His Majesty the late King Hussein, RSCN has been given the responsibility by the Government of Jordan to protect the Kingdom’s natural heritage. As such, it is one of the few voluntary organizations in the Middle East to be granted this kind of public service mandate. As a result of its pioneering conservation work, RSCN has achieved international recognition.

RSCN accomplishes its role in managing Jordan’s natural resources by: 

• Setting up and managing protected areas to safeguard Jordan’s natural environment and biodiversity; 
• Running captive breeding programs to save endangered species from extinction; 
• Conducting research to provide a scientific base to aid conservation efforts; 
• Enforcing governmental laws to protect wildlife and control illegal hunting; 
• Raising awareness on environmental issues, with a focus on school students through establishing nature conservation clubs, providing educational programs in the reserves, and integrating biodiversity concepts in school curricula; 
• Ensuring the socio-economic development of rural communities by creating job opportunities through eco-tourism, craft production, and other nature-based businesses; 
• Providing training and capacity building for environmental practitioners and other institutions throughout Jordan and the Middle East; 
• Encouraging public participation in RSCN nature activities through membership packages; 
• Promoting public action for environmental protection through campaigns and activities run by an advocacy committee comprised of volunteers from different sectors.

The policies and practices of RSCN are shaped and guided by an elected Board of Directors, made up of eleven members. Responsibility for day-to-day work is delegated to a team of over 320 staff, headed by the Director General. This work falls under four main functional divisions: Conservation, Outreach, Administration and Finance and Wild Jordan.