Petra: Lost City of Stone.(traveling exhibition )

October 18, 2003-July 6, 2004

Literally carved from the red sandstone cliffs in the Jordan Rift Valley is the ancient city of Petra, now mostly in ruins. Petra: Lost City of Stone, opening at the American Museum of Natural History on October 18, 2003, tells the story of this thriving metropolis at the crossroads of the ancient world's major trade routes and of the technological virtuosity that allowed its founders, the Nabataeans, to build and maintain a city in the harsh desert environment, Developed in collaboration with the Cincinnati Art Museum and presented under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, Petra is the first major cultural collaboration between Jordan and the United States and the most complete portrait ever mounted on the amazing yet enigmatic city of Petra and its people.

"With its complex intermingling of nature and culture," said Museum President Ellen V. Futter, "the fascinating story of Petra mirrors the very work and mission of the Museum. For more than 130 years, our curators have studied relationships between nature and humanity. Understanding how the underpinnings of other cultures flourish,…