Petra | Farming

The inhabitants of Petra supported themselves by agriculture and raising livestock. They built terraces, the walls still found in what is now desert, to cultivate vines and olive trees and bred camels, sheep, goats and horses.

Climate and conditions including rainfall, did not differ significantly from today, but the Nabataeans skilled in water management, storing this precious resource in great rock-cut cisterns or channeling the plentiful natural supply from it's source, Uyon Mosa (Moses Springs), some kilometers away to the heart of the city. Remains of pipes, channels and cisterns can still be seen throughout Petra.

Petra Guide: Before the Nabataeans | Beidha | The Edomites | The Nabataeans | Farming | Caravan City | The Nabataean Language | Religion | Houses | Pottery | Prosperity and Decline | Christianity and After | Aaron's Tomb Petra |Tourist Information