Canadian Destinations

Museum of Civilization exhibition highlights ancient city

The ancient city of Petra and its people are the subject of PETRA: Lost City of Stone, a major exhibition on until January 2007 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, across the river from Ottawa.

The ancient city of Petra and its people are the subject of PETRA: Lost City of Stone, a major exhibition on until January 2007 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, across the river from Ottawa.

Petra was a wonder of international commerce, stone-carved architecture, and waterworks engineering in the midst of the forbidding desert of what is now south Jordan. Its founders, the Nabataeans, are still hailed for their business acumen, artistic talents and technical innovations.

Two thousand years later, Petra is one of the most significant sites of antiquity. Literally carved from the stone of the desert canyons, this city of 3,000 temples, tombs, and dwellings was once home to an estimated 20,000 people. The city was notable for its sophisticated water system that ensured its people a reliable water supply — an engineering feat in the harsh desert environment.

"Even today, Petra has the power to astonish visitors with its physical setting and the scale and artistry of its stone work," said Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. "Its impact on desert caravans 2,000 years ago was profound. This exhibition explores the essence of the colossal city and allows us to share an enduring sense of wonder and respect."

PETRA: Lost City of Stone includes more than 170 artifacts selected from museums in Jordan, Europe and the United States. Some of the artifacts were unearthed only recently and are being shown in North America for the first time. The exhibition is organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

It offers a rich portrait of the city and its people, featuring stone sculptures and reliefs, ceramics, metalwork, inscriptions and a selection of nineteenth-century paintings, drawings and prints. Among the highlights are pieces such as an elephant-headed capital, a beautifully sculpted frieze from a Nabataean temple, and a monumental bust of the Nabataean god Dushara.

Complementing the artifacts are large projection screens that convey the grandeur of Petra's physical setting, and the size and magnificence of its major monuments. Some of the stone façades the city is famous for are over 30 metres tall. One of the most celebrated of these appeared in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Petra prospered for centuries at the confluence of major trade routes. The city drew its wealth from the camel caravans that ferried precious cargoes from India and Arabia to markets in Greece, Rome, Egypt and Syria.

"By linking the Roman Empire to the Far East, Petra grew into one of the great crossroads of the ancient world -- benefiting her citizens financially and culturally," added Dr. Rabinovitch. "The mixing of peoples and ideas is evident in the city's art, religions and architecture."

By the seventh century, however, the city had sunk into obscurity. Its decline had started with the development of ocean trade routes and accelerated after a massive earthquake in AD 363.

Forgotten by the outside world a thousand years, a thinly populated Petra was "rediscovered" by a Swiss explorer in 1812. It has been an object of Western fascination ever since.

The main exhibition is complemented by The Bedouin of Petra, an exhibition of 25 photographs taken by photojournalist Vivian Ronay between 1986 and 2003. These images offer a vivid look at the lives of Petra's contemporary residents, Arab Bedouins known as the Bedoul.

PETRA: Lost City of Stone was organized under the patronage of Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The exhibition will be featured at the Canadian Museum of Civilization until January 2, 2007. This is the final stop on the exhibition's tour. For further information see www.civilization.ca.