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Quiz about Petra A RoseRed City Half as Old as Time

Petra - A Rose-Red City Half as Old as Time Quiz

The ancient city of Petra is justifiably a World Heritage Site. This quiz is about this wonderful place.

A multiple-choice quiz by sancho_pft. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
sancho_pft

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
244,223

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
1496

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Who first called Petra "a rose-red city half as old as time"? Hint

John William Burgon

William Blake

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Question 2 of 10

2. Usually, visitors will enter Petra through a long narrow winding gorge. What is this called? Hint

The Gorge

The Siq

The Djinn's Way

Wadi Moussa

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Question 3 of 10

3. Who was the first Western explorer to reach Petra? Hint

Howard Carter

Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

Gaston Maspero

Giovanni Battista Belzoni

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Question 4 of 10

4. In which modern-day country is Petra? Hint

Israel

Jordan

Egypt

Lebanon

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Question 5 of 10

5. Who built the City? Hint

Nobody knows

The Greeks

Nabatean Arabs

The Romans

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Question 6 of 10

6. On entering the City the modern-day visitor will be confronted by one of the most dramatic of all Petra's buildings. What is it called? Hint

The Treasury

Lion Fountain

Broken Pediment Tomb

The Al-zantur House

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Question 7 of 10

7. Petra contains a spectacular semi-circular theatre. Who built it? Hint

The Nabatean Arabs

The Romans

The Greeks

The Crusaders

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Question 8 of 10

8. When did the last permanent residents leave the ancient city? Hint

In the mid 1980's

Mid fifteenth century

Early 19th century

Around AD 100, when the kingdom collapsed

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Question 9 of 10

9. Very few of the monuments at Petra can be dated with any certainty. The tomb of Sextius Florentinus, however, is dated. When was it built? Hint

AD299

AD 345

AD 129

AD 70

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Question 10 of 10

10. The most prodigious facade of all was built over 2,000 years ago. What is this building called? Hint

The High Place of Sacrifice

The Monastery

The Carmine Facade

The Corinthian Tomb

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Most Recent Scores

Apr 12 2024 : sophia983: 7/10
Feb 23 2024 : Guest 178: 7/10

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who first called Petra "a rose-red city half as old as time"?

Answer: John William Burgon

The famous line by John William Burgon (1813-88) is now constantly quoted in relation to this city. It first appeared in a prize-winning poem of his at Oxford.

2. Usually, visitors will enter Petra through a long narrow winding gorge. What is this called?

Answer: The Siq

The Siq - or, more properly Bab al-Siq - translates from Arabic as "gateway to the gorge". For centuries, it was subject to sudden flash floods, until channels were dug to divert the floodwaters.

3. Who was the first Western explorer to reach Petra?

Answer: Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

Burckhardt had to disguise himself as a local in order to persuade the people living nearby to lead him through the Siq to visit Petra, on 22 August 1812.

4. In which modern-day country is Petra?

Answer: Jordan

Petra lies in part of the Great Rift Valley which also includes the Dead Sea.

5. Who built the City?

Answer: Nabatean Arabs

The Nabatean kingdoms are very poorly documented. It is known that their empire collapsed in AD 106, after which Petra was ruled by, successively, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the early Islamic Umayyad Caliphate and - briefly - the Crusaders.

6. On entering the City the modern-day visitor will be confronted by one of the most dramatic of all Petra's buildings. What is it called?

Answer: The Treasury

Although known as "the Treasury" it was, in fact, built as a tomb. This building features in the film "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" where it is depicted as the hiding place of the Holy Grail.

7. Petra contains a spectacular semi-circular theatre. Who built it?

Answer: The Romans

During their occupation of Petra, the Romans built this magnificent open-air theatre which, it is estimated, would seat over 5,000 people.

8. When did the last permanent residents leave the ancient city?

Answer: In the mid 1980's

Right up to the 1980's there were around 400 people still living in the caves and carved buildings of Petra. The Jordanian government finally resettled them into new homes in nearby Wadi Moussa, giving them these homes free and, in most cases, also paying them a lump sum in cash to vacate Petra.

9. Very few of the monuments at Petra can be dated with any certainty. The tomb of Sextius Florentinus, however, is dated. When was it built?

Answer: AD 129

Titus Aninius Sextius Florentinus was Governor of the Roman province of Arabia in AD 127, and by AD 130 he had been replaced by one Haterius Nepos, so Sextius died in office. He must have really loved Petra to wish to be buried there instead of being returned to Rome.

10. The most prodigious facade of all was built over 2,000 years ago. What is this building called?

Answer: The Monastery

ad-Dier - "The Monastery" was originally built as a feasting hall to honour recently-deceased nobles. Christians used it in the fourth and fifth centuries AD, carving Doric crosses into the facade, which gave rise to its present-day name.

Source: Author sancho_pft

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
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