I have discovered that you can take a guided walk though the ruins of Petra on Google Street View, and what a place it is. Located in the dessert beside a valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba, it is thought to have been founded in the 4th century BC but flourished with up to 20,000 inhabitants in the first century AD. It is an extensive complex with the remains of many rock cut tombs, a theatre, and a colonnaded market place. It was home to the Nabataean people who were only conquered by the Romans in 106 AD. The city's wealth came from being on a trade route. This and the city declined after sea routes emerged and it was hit by a devastating earthquake in 363 AD. It was largely abandoned by the early Islamic era. It was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1985.