The year is 330 BC in Petra, southeast of the Dead Sea and 150 miles south of Jerusalem.

The sun burns high in the cloudsless blue sky in the vast desert landscape,

miles and miles of rose red sand stretching out over the rocky horizon.

In the distance, nestled within the cliff faces, there are signs of life.

Tense, heavy material pitched with wooden poles, fires burning inside, people cooking and relaxing, sheltering from the heat in

caves or tending to the nearby camels and donkeys. The community here make their living from camled caravans

traveling through. It's an essential post located at the crossroads of a vast

trading network from across the Arabian desert, moving west and north to the Mediterranean

coast. A man on a camel slowly approaches the settlement and asks to spend the night.

He's transporting frankincense, a light, portable yet valuable commodity,

and he's heading north to Damascus.

But he won't stay for too long.

Petra is a convenient stop-off on an otherwise hostile desert route.

It's hard to believe that this unassuming trading post will one day become the shining jewel of a great yet often

overshadowed ancient civilization, the Nabateans, who will harness the use of water to create a fertile paradise here, amidst desert canyons and mountains.

Their affluence and ingenuity will attract the attention of the power-hungry Greeks and Romans.

Petro will become a place of intrigue for great emperors like Trajan and Hadrian during their

visits to the Middle East.

Its inhabitants will carve elaborate Hellenistic-inspired structures into the cliff faces,

which will continue to impress visitors for thousands of years to come, a testament of their pioneering and tenacious spirit.

Petra, one of the seven wonders of the world, is one of the most visited tourist sites on the planet.

And in this episode I actually go to Petra to find out the truth about this great ancient city and the mysterious people

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