Situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea and inhabited since prehistoric times, the rock-cut capital city of the Nabateans, became during Hellenistic and Roman times a major caravan centre for the incense of Arabia, the silks of China and the spices of India, a crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. An ingenious water management system allowed extensive settlement of an essentially arid area during the Nabataean, Roman and Byzantine periods. It is one of the world's richest and largest archaeological sites set in a dominating red sandstone landscape.
The Outstanding Universal Value of Petra resides in the vast extent of elaborate tomb and temple architecture; religious high places; the remnant channels, tunnels and diversion dams that combined with a vast network of cisterns and reservoirs which controlled and conserved seasonal rains, and the extensive archaeological remains including of copper mining, temples, churches and other public buildings. The fusion of Hellenistic architectural facades with traditional Nabataean rock-cut temple/tombs including the Khasneh, the Urn Tomb, the Palace Tomb, the Corinthian Tomb and the Deir ("monastery") represents a unique artistic achievement and an outstanding architectural ensemble of the first centuries BC to AD. The varied archaeological remains and architectural monuments from prehistoric times to the medieval periods bear exceptional testimony to the now lost civilizations which succeeded each other at the site.
At first glance, the Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, seems like no more than a sun-blasted gorge of generic red rock, but underneath all of its dust lay the tombs of 63 of the most important pharaohs in the history of Ancient Egypt. Used as a burial chamber for nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, the Valley of the Kings was used for royal burials for the Kings, their families, and their possessions. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site, as well as the rest of the Theban Necropolis.
Discovered by Howards Carter in an excavation expedition in 1922, one of the most important tombs found in the Valley of the Kings is the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun and all of his treasures. This discovery has ever since then attracted tourists from all over the world as the treasures found traveled the world on a tour to spread the news that this very important discovery for the history of our civilization was discovered in the Valley of the kings. To this day excavations are still in process in some areas of the Valley of the Kings and a rotation system is in place for visitors to visit the tombs as restoration procedures are in place to recover the tombs that were found.
The Valley of the Kings is located on the west bank of the Nile River near Luxor. It is the most famous site for having unique collections of tombs and breathtaking ancient ruins. That location makes it one of the hottest spots for exploring ancient Egyptian history. The richness of the findings here in the Valley of the Kings has kept archeologists busy for nearly two centuries. If all of the tombs here were open to visitors it would be nearly impossible to actually make it to all of them, but thankfully the possibility of such a huge task is eliminated for you.
