The Byzantine Church in Petra (Jordan) celebrated the Epiphany prayer that ends christmas in january for the first time in more than 1.400 years, as part of the efforts of Jordanian authorities to place the archaeological city in the map of the christian pilgrimage, according to official sources.
The chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Petra Regional Authority, Fares Al Braizat, told the official Jordanian news agency Petra that this prayer, which was held in the Byzantine Church of Petra, is in the interest of placing Petra “in the map of christian pilgrimage in Jordan”.
Al Braizat added that the authority seeks to make “the ten existing churches in Petra suitable to be part of the christian pilgrimage route in Jordan and unite them with the clay church in Aqaba to create a new tourist package,” in order to “ attract more christian pilgrims to the kingdom and, in particular, to Petra”, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
For his part, the Vatican ambassador to the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, indicated that the city of Petra has churches recognized since Byzantine times.
“We hope to jointly cooperate with the Petra regional authority to promote religion-related products and promote them among Christian communities around the world,” he noted.
The Byzantine Church of Petra, dating back to the 5th century, has many mosaic installations, facades and floors dating back to the Byzantine era and has seen much restoration work to preserve its characteristic features.
Jordan is one of the nations mentioned in the bible, which makes it one of the most important for the pilgrimage of christianity, but religious tourism remains a pending task for the middle eastern country, which still needs to invest more in this sector to take advantage of your opportunity.
The Jordanian tourism sector has recorded estimated revenues of more than 6 billion euros in 2023, 28% more than expected, although it has been strongly affected by the war in the Gaza Strip, which broke out on October 7, said the Jordanian Tourism Minister Makram al Qubais last month.
In fact, the archaeological site of Petra, one of Jordan’s main tourist attractions, has also suffered around 78% cancellations, according to state media.
The city of Petra is an archaeological site excavated entirely in rock, which dates back to the time of the Nabataeans, around the 5th century BC, and is considered one of the most important treasures in the world.
Petra, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World
Petra is a famous archaeological site located in the desert of southwestern Jordan. It was founded around 300 BC. and became the capital of the Nabataean kingdom.
The city, which can only be accessed through a narrow canyon called Al Siq, is home to tombs and temples carved into pink sandstone cliffs, hence its nickname “the Pink City.”
The most famous building is probably Al Khazneh (also known as The Treasury), a 45-meter-high temple with an ornate greek-style facade.