For many tourists, the visit to the ancient city in southwest Jordan ends here ... how people in Petra made a living and how they interacted with their gods beyond leaving offerings.

Deep within Jordan’s desolate ... reference to the mysterious Petra, he realized, with growing excitement, that he might be near the “lost” city itself. He made up a convincing cover story ...

This part of Jordan is also religiously significant ... an Arabic tribe who made Petra their kingdom's capital from the second century B.C.E. to 106 C.E., when the kingdom was absorbed by the ...