The Lost City of Petra: Unlocking its Hidden Mysteries
Tom Paradise is a geosciences professor and the former Director of the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Arkansas. His diverse background includes geosciences, architectural and historic/material preservation, cartography/GIS, and Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and North African regional studies. Having researched the unique architecture of Petra, Jordan since 1990, he has published more than sixty articles, reports, and chapters on Petra and Wadi Rum and continues to advise the US, UNESCO, and foreign agencies on cultural heritage management and architectural deterioration. Professor Paradise was a Fulbright Senior Scholar to Jordan and has taught abroad in Rome, Amman, Venice and Tunis. A documentary consultant for Nova, NatGeo, Discovery, and Smithsonian Channels, his award-winning Nova special, PETRA: Lost City of Stone (2016), is one of PBS’ highest rated specials.
Overview
In 2,000, Petra was named one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World.” Forever immortalized in the finale of the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” this famous archeological site was inhabited since prehistoric times, and contains tombs and temples carved into pink sandstone cliffs — earning the location its nickname, the “Rose City.” Join Professor Thomas Paradise as he takes us on a visually stunning tour of The Lost City of Petra, discussing the ancient city’s architecture, history, landscape, and people along the way. From the hidden entry at Wadi Musa to the enigmatic monastery nestled in the faraway peaks of the valley in Jordan, Paradise will share his passion, insight, and rare perspective from more than three decades of living, teaching, researching, and mentoring in the “rose-red city half as old as time” that remained hidden and forgotten for over 1,000 years.