Wadi Musa ( ar, وادي موسى, literally "Valley of Musa (AS)) is a town located in the
Ma'an Governorate
Ma'an ( ar, معان) is one of the governorates of Jordan, it is located south of Amman, Jordan's capital. Its capital is the city of Ma'an. This governorate is the largest in the kingdom of Jordan by area.
History
The land of the Governorat ...
in southern
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. It is the administrative center of the Petra Department
and the nearest town to the archaeological site of
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to the mountain of Ja ...
. It hosts many hotels and restaurants for tourists, and the important
B'doul settlement of
Umm Seyhoun, created after the community's forced displacement in 1985, is approximately from the town.
Etymology
''Wadi Musa'' means "Valley of Moses" in Arabic. It is said that
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...
passed through the valley and struck water from the rock for his followers at the site of ''Ain Musa'' ("Moses Spring" or "Moses' Well"). The
Nabateans
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern L ...
built channels that carried water from this spring to the city of Petra. Wadi Musa was also nicknamed the "Guardian of Petra". The
Tomb of Aaron, the traditional burial site of biblical
Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
, the brother of Moses, is on nearby
Jebel Harun, a strong candidate for biblical
Mount Hor.
History
During the
Crusader period, the area was part of the
Lordship of Oultrejordain and was defended by the a castle,
li Vaux Moysi.
During the
Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On ...
, Turkish forces under the command of
Mehmed Djemal Pasha attacked Wadi Musa on 21 Oct. 1917. The Ottoman forces were defeated by forces under the command of
Mawlud Mukhlis
Mawlud Mukhlis ( ar, مولود مخلص), born in Mosul in 1886 and died in Beirut, Lebanon in 1951, was an Arab nationalist, soldier and Iraqi politician. He headed the Chamber of Deputies of Iraq from December 1937 to November 1941.
Biography
...
,
Faisal's ''
aide-de-camp''.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 654 inhabitants in Wadi Musa.
Climate
In Wadi Musa, there is a semi-arid climate. Most rain falls in the winter. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is BSk. The average annual temperature in Wadi Musa is . About of precipitation falls annually.
Demographics
As of 2009, Wadi Musa's population was 17,085, with a
male-to-female sex ratio of 52.1 to 47.9 (8,901 males and 8,184 females), making it the most populous settlement of the Petra Department.
As of the 2004 census, Petra Department, which includes Wadi Musa and 18 other villages, had a population of 23,840 inhabitants.
The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
of the town was 2.3 people per
dunam
A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amou ...
, or , and the
population growth rate was 3.2%.
Most of the town's population belongs to the Layathnah tribe, whose members play leading roles in the region's economy and politics and dominate the local tourism industry since the 20th century. Almost the entire population is
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
.
Economy
The town is about from
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...
, Jordan's capital, and north of the port city of
Aqaba
Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...
. With more than 50 hotels and many tourist restaurants, its economy is almost entirely tied to tourism.
The campus of the College of Archaeology, Tourism & Hotel Management of
Al-Hussein Bin Talal University
Al-Hussein Bin Talal University (AHU) (Arabic جامعة الحسين بن طلال) is a public coeducational university located in the heart of the southern region, 210 km from the Capital Amman.about 9 km to the northwest of Ma'an cit ...
is located in Wadi Musa.
Gallery
File:Wadi Musa Valley.jpg, Wadi Musa Valley
File:Petra Visitors Center.jpg, Petra Visitors Center
File:Wadi Musa, město II.jpg, Townscape
File:Wadi Musa houses.jpg, Houses in Wadi Musa
File:Wadi_Musa_at_dusk_(12294023723).jpg, Wadi Musa at dusk
Wadi Musa-Mosesquelle-02-aussen-2010-gje.jpg, Moses source
Wadi Musa-Panoramahotel-02-2010-gje.jpg, Hotel
Wadi Musa-Panoramahotel-22-Landschaft-2010-gje.jpg, Mountains
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Photos of Wadi Musaat the
American Center of Research
The American Center of Research (ACOR) is a private, not-for-profit scholarly and educational organization. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan, ACOR promotes knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past and ...
Photos of Wadi Musaat the
Manar al-Athar
Manar al-Athar is a photo archive based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford which aims to provide high-quality open-access images of archaeological sites and buildings. The archive's collection focuses on areas of the Roman Em ...
photo archive
{{Authority control
Populated places in Ma'an Governorate
Musa
Musa may refer to:
Places
*Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia
* Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon
* Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province
* Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran
* Musa, Kerman, Iran
* Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaija ...