Lost Civilization of Petra [Hardcover]

Udi Levy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0863152988 | ISBN-13: 978-0863152986 | Publication Date: February 2000

The Nabateans inhabited the Negev and Transjordanian desert around the time of Christ. A wealthy and largely peaceful people, they cultivated the desert and traded in spices and frankinsence from Saba, Persia, and India to the Mediterranean. They were among the first Christian converts who built some of the earliest churches in the Negev. All traces of this civilization disappeared for a thousand years until the rediscovery of its capital, Petra, in 1812.The ruined splendour of their temples and cities now draws visitors to Petra and Shivta from all over the world. So much about this ancient civilization remains veiled in mystery, however. Udi Levy provides a fully illustrated description of the Nabateans, their art, history and religion, and the desert agriculture in which they were so skilled. He weaves a fascinating picture of a peace-loving people developing their highly advanced culture in the war-torn region of Palestine. The book guides the reader through the best-preserved ruins and monuments of Petra and the desert cities of the Negev, and gives many practical tips for the visitor.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

About the Author

Udi Levy was born in 1952 in Jerusalem. He trained as an educator for children in need of special care in Switzerland before returning to Israel where he now works in a theraputic village near Beer Sheba at the northern edge of the old Nabatean kingdom.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Floris Books (February 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0863152988
• ISBN-13: 978-0863152986
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,095,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Details not found in other books..., March 2, 2003

By 

Rook Andalus (Venice, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost Civilization of Petra (Hardcover)

Udi Levy covers a lot of ground in this book to include Nabatean sites not within Petra proper as well. The book provides information on the rise of the Nabatean peoples and the subsequent rise of their cities and villages (Petra, of course being the focus). Their religion is analyzed, their agricultural practices looked at in detail, and more. This book even looks at neighboring cultures and provides compare-and-contrast analyses so that the reader can see Nabatean lifestyle in context of the region in which they lived.

Levy definitely did his homework before writing this book, and even looks at facts such as how much weight a camel can carry, and then deducing from this the total amount (cost-wise) of goods traders' caravan could carry across southwest Asia at the time (about a million dinars). This kind of attention to detail is most appreciated, and you will find it to be intriguing reading!!

The only disappointment, albeit a minor one, was that the conclusion left much to be desired. Levy writes 220 pages of insightful, thoughtful information then concludes with a single paragraph. I feel he could have wrapped it up a bit better than that, but even still, it doesn't detract from the wealth of information his book provides nevertheless.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lack of pictures..., November 10, 2010

By 

T2 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lost Civilization of Petra (Hardcover)

Bought this book to show picts for my children before visiting this ancient city. There are not too many pictures in this book, there seems to be a lack of illustrated books of this city.