Ad-Deir, Petra, Jordan Jan 22, 2025

Ad-Deir, Petra, Jordan

Carved into rose-red cliffs, Petra and its crown jewel, Ad-Deir, or "The Monastery," feel like stepping into a real-life Indiana Jones adventure. Tucked in the heart of Jordan"s arid desert landscapes, this ancient city once thrived as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom in the 2nd century BCE. It was also a hub of the spice trade, connecting distant regions like China, Egypt, Greece and India. The city was abandoned for around 500 years before being rediscovered in 1812, earning it the "Lost City" moniker.

© Punnawit Suwuttananun/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Hop into Lunar New Year
Jan 22, 2024Walton Lighthouse, Santa Cruz, California, USA
Jan 22, 2026Karlovy Vary, Bohemia, Czechia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Racing through the five boroughs
Family on parade
9,000-year-old handprints
Mar 19, 2024Tree frog on leaf
May 21, 2024International Tea Day
Mar 10, 2024Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand, India
Who uses this grassy bridge?
Oct 15, 2023European hedgehog
Oct 25, 2024Golden Temple, Amritsar
Celebrating our looming lunar neighbour
Ride the wave
Dec 9, 2025Guanaco, Punta Norte, Valdés Peninsula, Argentina
Aug 9, 2025Raksha Bandhan
Oct 4, 2025World Space Week
Starry, starry night
Love is in the snow
One giant leap for mankind
Jun 6, 2024Les Braves monument, Omaha Beach, Normandy, France
Jun 2, 2024Hampi, Hospet, Karnataka
Huddled and hunting
Aug 31, 2024Rocks and sand in the Sahara, Algeria
Our forgotten forests
Jan 3, 2024Virupaksha temple, Hampi, Karnataka
Oct 27, 2023Sligachan Old Bridge, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Take the trail more travelled by
Jan 28, 2026Whanganui National Park, Retaruke, New Zealand
A puzzle for giants
Dec 8, 2024Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
Dec 20, 2024Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
Sep 13, 2023Hemakuta Hill, Hampi