Petra, the most important trading City of 2200 years ago
Have you ever visited the Ancient Petra city in Jordan? If you haven’t visited the city, it must be on your list. What makes it essential in ancient times? ıf you live in a wild desert, you have to find critical cities to trade in silk road. So, Petra was a crucial point for the trade routes.
Trading precious silk was mission impossible for that time. And there should be trade cities to control the routes. Whether they have technology doesn’t change the situation: everything should be on control.
Petra found in the valley between two mountains. It’s like a dream in the desert. Whether the silk has come from China or İndia, and it should have been in Petra.
Trade and religion gather in Petra.
There’s a big, almost endless desert. ıf you want to take a rest in a silent place, you can read the notes like:’’ I was in Petra on pilgrimage’’.
There was a significant conflict between Sassanids and Byzantines in the region. If you have cooperated with one of them, this city could be a part of the trade.
The trader should have passports between different tribes as the trade route arrive at the destination without casualties.
People could use oil that was dripping from the mountain. As there was no technology to get oil like today, it was a comfort zone. ıf rare ingredients like salt, olive oil was in stock, it’s like living in California beach.
Just think about the city. It’s like a port city in a modern town: ıf your family belonged to a trade route controller, your occupation had to be the same. There were contracts between burglars and traders: ıf someone steals from them, it was a big sin at that time.
Could Petra be the real Mecca?
I think everyone knows the new Mecca architecture: the thing we should know: there is no ancient city like people found it the first time.
On the other hand, there were trade maps defined by the Roman empire. If there was a trade route, you could have seen the city at that time. Saudi Arabia was the middle of Syria and Iraq in the Sixth century B.C. It’s written in the encyclopedia of Brittanica.
Petra could be significant in every aspect. As there were a few earthquakes occurred, residents had rebuilt it again. They have found stones in Hebrew. When they tried to translate the city name on the rock, it called: ‘’ Becca: the city of the cries’’.
The residents were too busy. So, they would like to find special times to think about life, religion, etc. ıf you went to a cave for a few days, it was a routine for that time.
Mecca is a name that defines the center of the religion/trade. Today’s location couldn’t be the ancient city according to the theological resources. Whether it’s Petra or not, people should search for the real Mecca city.
Petra has always been a center for trade, tourism, etc. Whether the Mecca’s location is Petra or not needs lots of reviews. However, it’s not a utopia.
