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

Jan 22, 2018Bird’s-eye view of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
Jan 22, 2019Is this Minecraft headquarters?
Jan 22, 2020A horse of many colors
Jan 22, 2021Cold? What cold?
Jan 22, 2022Martinique
Jan 22, 2023Mountain hare hopping into Lunar New Year
Jan 22, 2024Walton Lighthouse, Santa Cruz, California

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 27, 2024Polar Bear Week
Oct 17, 2020Fog above the forest
Sep 27, 2022Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Mar 6, 2023Icelandic horses, Iceland
Feb 4, 2019Sitting down and taking a stand
Feb 15, 2022Lantern Festival
Sep 24, 2025Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming
Nov 14, 2019The perfect canvas for an ancient text
Aug 11, 2018Lace up your hiking boots for Mountain Day
May 18, 2025International Museum Day
May 20, 2023World Bee Day
Jun 3, 2023National Trails Day
Aug 17, 2023Things are looking up
Mar 1, 2019Forward-thinking women of history
Apr 3, 2019Dark skies over New Mexico
Apr 20, 2023Juniper Springs, Florida
Feb 13, 2019Life goes on at the Beatles Ashram
Oct 24, 2025Night view of the RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
Apr 19, 2022Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia
Oct 23, 2024Madame Sherri Forest, New Hampshire
Dec 18, 2023Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Feb 29, 2020It s leap day!
Feb 20, 2018Buddha in the roots of a tree, Ayutthaya, Thailand
May 27, 2022Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
Jul 10, 2023A field of English lavender
Jan 18, 2018Entoloma hochstetteri mushroom at Lake Mahinapua, New Zealand
Dec 7, 2024National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Jun 6, 2023D-Day remembered
Jul 6, 2021The most Instagrammable bird?
Dec 1, 2018A treaty for science