Today, let’s learn where this list of countries are on the map:

• Greece*
• Turkey*
• Egypt*
• Saudi Arabia*
• Iraq
• Iran
• Jordan

The countries marked with “*” have pages in the Dover coloring book.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

• Great Pyramid of Giza – Egypt
• Lighthouse of Alexandria – Egypt
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon – Iraq
• Statue of Zeus at Olympia – Greece
• Colossus of Rhodes – Greece
• Temple of Artemis – Turkey
• Mausoleum at Halicarnassus – Turkey

Petra in Jordan

Petra was an ancient Arab city in what is now the southwestern part of the country of Jordan. The name Petra comes from the Greek word for “rock.” Many of Petra’s buildings were carved directly into rocky sandstone cliffs.

People lived around Petra for tens of thousands of years. More than 2,000 years ago, an Arab tribe called the Nabataeans occupied Petra. They made it the capital of their kingdom. Under the Nabataeans, Petra became a center of the spice trade. Traders from as far away as China, Greece, Egypt, and India passed through Petra. The city grew very large. Between 10,000 and 30,000 people may have lived there. In ad 106 the ancient Romans took over the Nabataean kingdom. Petra became a part of the Roman Empire. Over time, changes in trade routes caused Petra to decline. Bad earthquakes destroyed large portions of the city in 363 and 551.