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Petra (from πέτρα "petra", rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, Al-Butrā) is an archaeological site in southwestern Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Horin a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock. The long-hidden site was revealed to the Western world by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.