Petra (; , "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō (Nabataean:  or , *Raqēmō), is a historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the stone from which it is carved; it was famously called "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a poem of 1845 by John Burgon. It is adjacent to the mountain of Jabal Al-Madbah, in a basin surrounded by mountains forming the eastern flank of the Arabah valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Access to the city is through a famously picturesque  gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the Khazneh.

The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of their kingdom as early as the 4th century BC. Archaeological work has only discovered evidence of Nabataean presence dating back to the second century BC, by which time Petra had become their capital. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the incense trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub.

The trading business gained the Nabataeans considerable revenue and Petra became the focus of their wealth. Unlike their enemies, the Nabataeans were accustomed to living in the barren deserts and were able to repel attacks by taking advantage of the area's mountainous terrain. They were particularly skillful in harvesting rainwater, agriculture, and stone carving. Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its Al-Khazneh structure, possibly the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV, was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants.  Most of the famous rock-cut buildings, which are mainly tombs, date from this and the following period.  Much less remains of the free-standing buildings of the city.

Although the Nabataean kingdom became a client state of the Roman Empire in the first century BC, it was only in 106 AD that it lost its independence. Petra fell to the Romans, who annexed Nabataea and renamed it as Arabia Petraea. Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 destroyed many structures. In the Byzantine era, several Christian churches were built, but the city continued to decline and, by the early Islamic era, it was abandoned except for a handful of nomads. It remained unknown to the western world until 1812, when Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it.

It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". In 2007, Petra was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. Tourist numbers peaked at 1.1 million in 2019, marking the first time that the figure rose above the 1 million mark. Tourism in the historical city was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but soon after started to pick up again, reaching 905,000 visitors in 2022.

History

Neolithic

By 7000 BC, some of the earliest recorded farmers had settled in Beidha, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement just north of Petra.

Bronze Age

Petra is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the Amarna letters as Pel, Sela, or Seir.

Iron Age Edom

The Iron Age lasted between 1200 and 600 BC; in that time, the Petra area was occupied by the Edomites. This came when the Edomites rebelled after the death of King Solomon in 928 BC when Israel split into two kingdoms for Israel to be in the north and Judah in the south. The Edomites were known as descendents of Esau and this was referenced in the Old Testament of the Bible. The configuration of mountains in Petra allowed for a reservoir of water for the Edomites. This made Petra a stopping ground for merchants, making it an outstanding area for trade. Things that were traded here included wines, olive oil, and wood.

Initially, the Edomites were accompanied by Nomads who eventually left, but the Edomites stayed and made their mark on Petra before the emergence of the Nabataens. They were then engaged in battle with King Amaziah of Judah and chased back into their own lands. It is said that 10,000 men were thrown off of the mountain Umm el-Biyara, but this story has been debated by scholars.

The Edomite site excavated at the top of the Umm el-Biyara mountain at Petra was established no earlier than the seventh century BC (Iron II).

Emergence of Petra

The Nabataeans were one among several nomadic Bedouin tribes that roamed the Arabian Desert and moved with their herds to wherever they could find pasture and water. Although the Nabataeans were initially embedded in Aramaic culture, theories about them having Aramean roots are rejected by many modern scholars. Instead, archaeological, religious and linguistic evidence confirm that they are a northern Arabian tribe. Current evidence suggests that the Nabataean name for Petra was Raqēmō, variously spelled in inscriptions as rqmw or rqm.

The Jewish historian Josephus (ca. 37–100 AD) writes that the region was inhabited by the Midianites during the time of Moses, and that they were ruled by five kings, one of whom was Rekem. Josephus mentions that the city, called Petra by the Greeks, "ranks highest in the land of the Arabs" and was still called Rekeme by all the Arabs of his time, after its royal founder (Antiquities iv. 7, 1; 4, 7). The Onomasticon of Eusebius also identified Rekem as Petra. Arabic raqama means "to mark, to decorate", so Rekeme could be a Nabataean word referring to the famous carved rock façades. In 1964, workmen clearing rubble away from the cliff at the entrance to the gorge found several funerary inscriptions in Nabatean script. One of them was to a certain Petraios who was born in Raqmu (Rekem) and buried in Garshu (Jerash).

An old theory held that Petra might be identified with a place called sela in the Hebrew Bible. Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) states that the Semitic name of the city, if not Sela, would remain unknown. It nevertheless cautioned that sela simply means "rock" in Hebrew, and thence might not be identified with a city where it occurs in the biblical text in the book of Obadiah. It is possible that the city was part of the nation of Edom.

The passage in Diodorus Siculus (xix. 94–97) which describes the expeditions which Antigonus sent against the Nabataeans in 312 BC, was understood by some researchers to throw some light upon the history of Petra, but the "petra" (Greek for rock) referred to as a natural fortress and place of refuge cannot be a proper name, and the description implies that there was no town in existence there at the time.

Roman period

In AD 106, when Cornelius Palma was governor of Syria, the part of Arabia under the rule of Petra was absorbed into the Roman Empire as part of Arabia Petraea, and Petra became its capital. The native dynasty came to an end but the city continued to flourish under Roman rule. It was around this time that the Petra Roman Road was built. A century later, in the time of Alexander Severus, when the city was at the height of its splendor, the issue of coinage came to an end. There was no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to some sudden catastrophe, such as an invasion by the neo-Persian power under the Sassanid Empire.

Meanwhile, as Palmyra (fl. 130–270) grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from Petra, the latter declined. It appears, however, to have lingered on as a religious center. Another Roman road was constructed at the site. Epiphanius of Salamis (c.315–403) writes that in his time a feast was held there on December 25 in honor of the virgin Khaabou (Chaabou) and her offspring Dushara. Dushara and al-Uzza were two of the main deities of the city, which otherwise included many idols from other Nabataean deities such as Allat and Manat.

Between 111 and 114 Trajan built the Via Traiana Nova, running from the Syrian border to the Red Sea through Petra. This road followed the old routes of Nabataean caravans. In the shadow of the Pax Romana, this route revived trade between Arabia, Syria, and Mediterranean harbors. In 125 AD, one of Emperor Hadrian's administrators left marks in Petra, pointed out by documents found at the Dead Sea. In 130 AD, Hadrian visited the former Nabataean capital, giving it the name of Hadriānī Petra Metropolis, imprinted on his coins. His visit, however, did not lead to any boom in development and new buildings as it did in Jerash. The province's governor, Sextius Florentinus, erected a monumental mausoleum for his son near the end of the al-Hubta (King's Wall) tombs, which had been generally reserved during the Nabataean period for the royal family.

The interest that Roman emperors showed in the city in the 3rd century suggests that Petra and its environs remained highly esteemed for a long time. An inscription to Liber Pater, a god revered by Emperor Septimius Severus, was found in the temenos of the temple known as Qasr al-Bint, and Nabataean tombs contained silver coins with the emperor's portrait, as well as pottery from his reign. Emperor Elagabalus declared Petra to be a Roman colony, when he reorganized the Roman Empire towards the end of the 3rd century. The area from Petra to Wadi Mujib, the Negev, and the Sinai Peninsula were annexed into the province of Palaestina Salutaris. Petra may be seen on the Madaba mosaic map from the reign of Emperor Justinian.

Byzantine period

Petra declined rapidly under Roman rule, in large part from the revision of sea-based trade routes. In 363, an earthquake destroyed many buildings and crippled the vital water management system. The old city of Petra was the capital of the Byzantine province of Palaestina III and many churches from the Byzantine period were excavated in and around Petra. In one of them, the Byzantine Church, 140 papyri were discovered, which contained mainly contracts dated from 530s to 590s, establishing that the city was still flourishing in the 6th century. The Byzantine Church is a prime example of monumental architecture in Byzantine Petra.

The last reference to Byzantine Petra comes from the Spiritual Meadow of John Moschus, written in the first decades of the 7th century. He gives an anecdote about its bishop, Athenogenes. It ceased to be a metropolitan bishopric sometime before 687 when that function had been transferred to Areopolis. Petra is not mentioned in the narratives of the Muslim conquest of the Levant, nor does it appear in any early Islamic records.

Crusaders and Mamluks

In the 12th century, the Crusaders built fortresses such as the Alwaeira Castle, but were forced to abandon Petra after a while. As a result, the location of Petra was lost until the 19th century.

Two further Crusader-period castles are known in and around Petra: the first is al-Wu'ayra, situated just north of Wadi Musa. It can be viewed from the road to Little Petra. It is the castle that was seized by a band of Turks with the help of local Muslims and only recovered by the Crusaders after they began to destroy the olive trees of Wadi Musa. The potential loss of livelihood led the locals to negotiate a surrender. The second is on the summit of el-Habis, in the heart of Petra, and can be accessed from the West side of the Qasr al-Bint.

The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity during the Middle Ages and were visited by Baibars, one of the first Mamluk sultans of Egypt, towards the end of the 13th century.

19th and 20th centuries

The first European to describe them was the Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt during his travels in 1812. At that time, the Greek Church of Jerusalem operated a diocese in Al Karak named Battra (باطره in Arabic, and Πέτρας in Greek) and it was the opinion among the clergy of Jerusalem that Kerak was the ancient city of Petra.

Burckhardt already spoke Arabic fluently, and was on his way to explore the Niger River when he heard stories of a dead city that held the tomb of the Prophet Aaron, and became fascinated with finding the city. He then dressed himself up as a local, and only spoke in Arabic, bringing a goat with him with the intent of sacrificing it in honor of Aaron's Tomb. After one day of exploring, he was convinced that he had found the lost city of Petra.

Léon de Laborde and Louis-Maurice-Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds made the first accurate drawings of Petra in 1828. The Scottish painter David Roberts visited Petra in 1839 and returned to Britain with sketches and stories of the encounter with local tribes, published in The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia. Frederic Edwin Church, the leading American landscape painter of the 19th century, visited Petra in 1868, and the resulting painting El Khasné, Petra is among his most important and well-documented. Missionary Archibald Forder published photographs of Petra in the December 1909 issue of National Geographic.

Because the structures weakened with age, many of the tombs became vulnerable to thieves, and many treasures were stolen. In 1929, a four-person team consisting of British archaeologists Agnes Conway and George Horsfield, Palestinian physician and folklore expert Dr Tawfiq Canaan and Dr Ditlef Nielsen, a Danish scholar, excavated and surveyed Petra.

The archaeologist Philip Hammond from the University of Utah visited Petra for nearly 40 years. He explained that the local folklore says it was created by the wand of Moses, when he struck the rock to bring forth water for the Israelites. Hammond believed the carved channels deep within the walls and ground were made from ceramic pipes that once fed water for the city, from rock-cut systems on the canyon rim.

Numerous scrolls in Greek and dating to the Byzantine period were discovered in an excavated church near the Temple of the Winged Lions in Petra in December 1993.

21st century
In December 2022, Petra was hit by heavy flooding.

Layout

Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, creating an artificial oasis. The area is visited by flash floods, but archaeological evidence shows that the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams, cisterns, and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought and enabled the city to prosper from its sale.

In ancient times, Petra might have been approached from the south on a track leading across the plain of Petra, around Jabal Haroun ("Aaron's Mountain"), the location of the Tomb of Aaron, said to be the burial place of Aaron, brother of Moses. Another approach was possibly from the high plateau to the north. Today, most modern visitors approach the site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge, in places only  wide, called the Siq ("shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa.

Hellenistic architecture

Petra is known primarily for its Hellenistic architecture. The facades of the tombs in Petra are commonly rendered in Hellenistic style, reflecting the number of diverse cultures which the Nabataens traded, all of which were in turn influenced by Greek culture. Most of these tombs contain small burials niches carved into the stone.

Perhaps the best example of the Hellenistic style is seen in the Treasury, which is  wide and  tall and references the architecture of Alexandria. The facade of the Treasury features a broken pediment with a central tholos inside, and two obelisks appear to form into the rock at the top. Near the bottom of the Treasury are the twin Greek gods Castor and Pollux, who protect travellers on their journeys. Near the top of the Treasury, two victories are seen standing on each side of a female figure on the tholos. This female figure is believed to be the Isis-Tyche, Isis and Tyche being the Egyptian and Greek goddesses, respectively, of good fortune.

Another prime example of Hellenistic architecture featured in Petra is its Monastery, which stands at  tall and  wide; this is Petra's largest monument and is similarly carved into the rock face. The facade of this again features a broken pediment, similar to the Treasury, as well as another central tholos. The Monastery displays more of a Nabataen touch while at the same time incorporating elements from Greek architecture. Its only source of light is its entrance standing at  high. There is a large space outside of the Monastery, which is purposefully flattened for worship purposes. Formerly, in the Byzantine period, this was a place for Christian worship, but is now a holy site for pilgrims to visit.

City centre

At the end of the narrow gorge, the Siq, stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, popularly known as Al-Khazneh ("the Treasury"), hewn into the sandstone cliff. While remaining in remarkably preserved condition, the face of the structure is marked by hundreds of bullet holes made by the local Bedouin tribes that hoped to dislodge riches that were once rumoured to be hidden within it. A little farther from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr, is a massive theatre, positioned so as to bring the greatest number of tombs within view. At the point where the valley opens out into the plain, the site of the city is revealed with striking effect. The theatre was cut into the hillside and into several of the tombs during its construction. Rectangular gaps in the seating are still visible. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-coloured mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures and lined with knobs cut from the rock in the form of towers. The theatre  was said to hold around 8,500 people. The performances that audiences were able to attend here were poetry readings and dramas. Gladiator fights were also said to be held here and attracted the most audience, although no gladiator was able to gain any momentum or fame due to the heavy mortality rate that came with it. The theatre was one of many structures in Petra that took significant damage due to the 363 Galilee earthquake.

The Petra Pool and Garden Complex is a series of structures within the city center. Originally said to be a market area, excavations at the site have allowed scholars to identify it as an elaborate Nabataean garden, which included a large swimming pool, an island-pavilion, and an intricate hydraulic system.

Ahead of the Petra Pool and Garden Complex lies Colonnaded street, which is among few artifacts of Petra that was constructed rather than natural. This street used to hold a semi-circle nymphaeum, which is now in ruins due to flash flooding, and used to hold Petra's only tree. This was intended to be a symbol for the peaceful atmosphere that the Nabataens were able to construct in Petra. Once the Romans took control of the city, Colonnaded street was narrowed to make room for a side walk, and 72 columns were added to each side.

High Place of Sacrifice

The High Place of Sacrifice is located at the top of Jebel Madbah Mountain. The beginning of the hike is near Petra's theatre. From there, the site of The High Place of Sacrifice is around an 800-step hike. One commonly believed sacrifice that took place there was libation. Another common form of sacrifice that took place there was animal sacrifice; this is due to the belief that the tomb of the Prophet Aaron is located in Petra, which is a sacred site for Muslims. In honor of this, a goat was sacrificed annually. Other rituals also took place there, including the burning of frankincense.

Royal Tombs

The Royal Tombs of Petra are in the Nabatean version of Hellenistic architecture, but their facades have worn due to natural decay. One of these tombs, the Palace Tomb, is speculated to be the tomb for the kings of Petra. The Corinthian Tomb, which is right next to the Palace Tomb, has the same Hellenistic architecture featured on the Treasury. The two other Royal Tombs are the Silk Tomb and the Urn Tomb; the Silk Tomb does not stand out as much as the Urn Tomb. The Urn Tomb features a large yard in its front, and was turned into a church in 446 AD after the expansion of Christianity.

Exterior platform

In 2016, archaeologists using satellite imagery and drones discovered a very large, previously unknown monumental structure whose beginnings were tentatively dated to about 150 BC, the time when the Nabataeans initiated their public building programme. It is located outside the main area of the city, at the foot of Jabal an-Nmayr and about  south of the city centre, but is facing east, not towards the city, and has no visible relationship to it. The structure consists of a huge,  platform, with a monumental staircase along its eastern side. The large platform enclosed a slightly smaller one, topped with a comparatively small building, , which was facing east toward the staircase. The structure, second in size only to the Monastery complex, probably had a ceremonial function of which not even a speculative explanation has yet been offered by the researchers.

Religious importance

Pliny the Elder and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom and the centre of their caravan trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf.

The Nabataeans worshipped Arab gods and goddesses during the pre-Islamic era as well as a few of their deified kings. One, Obodas I, was deified after his death. Dushara was the primary male god accompanied by his three female deities: Al-'Uzzā, Allat and Manāt. Many statues carved in the rock depict these gods and goddesses. New evidence indicates that broader Edomite, and Nabataean theology had strong links to Earth-Sun relationships, often manifested in the orientation of prominent Petra structures to equinox and solstice sunrises and sunsets.

A stele dedicated to Qos-Allah 'Qos is Allah' or 'Qos the god', by Qosmilk (melech: king) is found at Petra (Glueck 516). Qos is identifiable with Kaush (Qaush) the God of the older Edomites. The stele is horned and the seal from the Edomite Tawilan near Petra identified with Kaush displays a star and crescent (Browning 28), both consistent with a moon deity. It is conceivable that the latter could have resulted from trade with Harran (Bartlett 194). There is continuing debate about the nature of Qos (qaus: bow) who has been identified both with a hunting bow (hunting god) and a rainbow (weather god) although the crescent above the stele is also a bow.

Nabataean inscriptions in Sinai and other places display widespread references to names including Allah, El and Allat (god and goddess), with regional references to al-Uzza, Baal and Manutu (Manat) (Negev 11). Allat is also found in Sinai in South Arabian language. Allah occurs particularly as Garm-'allahi: "god decided" (Greek Garamelos) and Aush-allahi: "gods covenant" (Greek Ausallos). We find both Shalm-lahi "Allah is peace" and Shalm-allat, "the peace of the goddess". We also find Amat-allahi "she-servant of god" and Halaf-llahi "the successor of Allah".

Recently, Petra has been put forward as the original direction of Muslim prayer, the Qibla, by some in the revisionist school of Islamic studies, namely that the earliest mosques faced Petra, not Jerusalem or Mecca. However, others have challenged the notion of comparing modern readings of Qiblah directions to early mosques' Qiblahs as they claim early Muslims could not accurately calculate the direction of the Qiblah to Mecca and so the apparent pinpointing of Petra by some early mosques may well be coincidental.

The Monastery, Petra's largest monument, dates from the 1st century BC. It was dedicated to Obodas I and is believed to be the symposium of Obodas the god. This information is inscribed on the ruins of the Monastery (the name is the translation of the Arabic Ad Deir).

The Temple of the Winged Lions is a large temple complex dated to the reign of King Aretas IV (9 BC–40 AD). The temple is located in Petra's so-called Sacred Quarter, an area situated at the end of Petra's main Colonnaded Street consisting of two majestic temples, the Qasr al-Bint and, opposite, the Temple of the Winged Lions on the northern bank of Wadi Musa.

Christianity found its way to Petra in the 4th century AD, nearly 500 years after the establishment of Petra as a trade centre. The start of Christianity in Petra started primarily in 330 AD when the first Christian Emperor of Rome took over, Constantine I, otherwise known as Constantine The Great. He began the initial spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. Athanasius mentions a bishop of Petra (Anhioch. 10) named Asterius. At least one of the tombs (the "tomb with the urn"?) was used as a church. An inscription in red paint records its consecration "in the time of the most holy bishop Jason" (447). After the Islamic conquest of 629–632, Christianity in Petra, as of most of Arabia, gave way to Islam. During the First Crusade Petra was occupied by Baldwin I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and formed the second fief of the barony of Al Karak (in the lordship of Oultrejordain) with the title Château de la Valée de Moyse or Sela. It remained in the hands of the Franks until 1189. It is still a titular see of the Catholic Church.

According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Musa (Moses) struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where Moses' brother, Harun (Aaron), is buried, at Mount Hor, known today as Jabal Haroun or Mount Aaron. The Wadi Musa or "Wadi of Moses" is the Arab name for the narrow valley at the head of which Petra is sited. A mountaintop shrine of Moses' sister Miriam was still shown to pilgrims at the time of Jerome in the 4th century, but its location has not been identified since.

Climate

In Petra, there is a semi-arid climate. Most rain falls in the winter. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is BSk. The average annual temperature in Petra is . About  of precipitation falls annually.

Conservation

The Bidoul/Bidul (Petra Bedouin) were forcibly resettled from their cave dwellings in Petra to Umm Sayhoun/Um Seihun by the Jordanian government in 1985, prior to the UNESCO designation process. They were provided with block-built housing with some infrastructure including in particular a sewage and drainage system. Among the six communities in the Petra Region, Umm Sayhoun is one of the smaller communities. The village of Wadi Musa is the largest in the area, inhabited largely by the Layathnah Bedouin, and is now the closest settlement to the visitor centre, the main entrance via the Siq and the archaeological site generally. Umm Sayhoun gives access to the 'back route' into the site, the Wadi Turkmaniyeh pedestrian route.

On December 6, 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site. In a popular poll in 2007, it was also named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. The Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) became an autonomous legal entity over the management of this site in August 2007.

The Bidouls belong to one of the Bedouin tribes whose cultural heritage and traditional skills were proclaimed by UNESCO on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2005 and inscribed in 2008.

In 2011, following an 11-month project planning phase, the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority in association with DesignWorkshop and JCP s.r.l published a Strategic Master Plan that guides planned development of the Petra Region. This is intended to guide planned development of the Petra Region in an efficient, balanced and sustainable way over the next 20 years for the benefit of the local population and of Jordan in general. As part of this, a Strategic Plan was developed for Umm Sayhoun and surrounding areas.

The process of developing the Strategic Plan considered the area's needs from five points of view:

 A socio-economic perspective
 The perspective of Petra Archaeological Park
 The perspective of Petra's tourism product
 A land use perspective
 An environmental perspective

The site suffers from a host of threats, including collapse of ancient structures, erosion due to flooding and improper rainwater drainage, weathering from salt upwelling, improper restoration of ancient structures, and unsustainable tourism. The last has increased substantially, especially since the site received widespread media coverage in 2007 during the New7Wonders of the World Internet and cellphone campaign.

In an attempt to reduce the problems, the Petra National Trust (PNT) was established in 1989. It has worked with numerous local and international organisations on projects that promote the protection, conservation, and preservation of the Petra site. Moreover, UNESCO and ICOMOS recently collaborated to publish their first book on human and natural threats to the sensitive World Heritage sites. They chose Petra as its first and the most important example of threatened landscapes. The presentation Tourism and Archaeological Heritage Management at Petra: Driver to Development or Destruction? (2012) was the first in a series to address the very nature of these deteriorating buildings, cities, sites, and regions.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released a video in 2018 highlighting the abuse of working animals in Petra. PETA claimed that animals are forced to carry tourists or pull carriages every day. The video showed handlers beating and whipping working animals, with beatings intensifying when animals faltered. PETA also showed some wounded animals, including camels with fly-infested, open wounds. The Jordanian authority running the site responded by proposing a veterinary clinic, and by undertaking to spread awareness among animal handlers. In 2020, more video released by PETA indicated that conditions for the animals had not improved and, in 2021, the organization was running what appeared to be the only veterinary clinic in the area.

Petra is a site at the intersection of natural and cultural heritage forming a unique cultural landscape. Ever since Johann Ludwig Burckhardt aka Sheikh Ibrahim had re-discovered the ruin city in Petra, Jordan, in 1812, the cultural heritage site has attracted different people who shared an interest in the ancient history and culture of the Nabataeans such as travellers, pilgrims, painters and savants. However, it was not until the late 19th century that the ruins were systematically approached by archaeological researchers. Since then regular archaeological excavations and ongoing research on the Nabataean culture have been part of today's UNESCO world cultural heritage site Petra. Through the excavations in the Petra Archaeological Park an increasing number of Nabataean cultural heritage is being exposed to environmental impact. A central issue is the management of water impacting the built heritage and the rock hewn facades. The large number of discoveries and the exposure of structures and findings demand conservation measures respecting the interlinkage between the natural landscape and cultural heritage, as especially this connection is a central challenge at the UNECSO World Heritage Site.

In recent years different conservation campaigns and projects were established at the cultural heritage site of Petra. The main works first focussed on the entrance situation of the Siq to protect tourists and to facilitate access. Also, different projects for conservation and conservation research were conducted. Following is a list of projects, to be continued.

 1958 Restoration of the third pillar of the Treasury building (Al-Khazneh).  This project was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
 1974–1990 Conservation work in the excavated area of the Winged Lions Temple
 1981 Different restoration works by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan
 1985 Restoration works at the Qasr El Bint Temple by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan
 1990–1998 Excavation and Conservation of the Byzantine Church by the American Centre of Research (ACOR)
 1992–2002 Conservation and Restoration Center in Petra CARCIP, German GTZ Project.
 1993–2000 Excavation, conservation and restoration of the Great Temple, funded by the Brown University, USA.
 1996 onwards, Restoration of the Siq and rehabilitation of the Siq floor by the Petra National Trust foundet by the Jordanian-Swiss counterpart Fund, the Swiss Agency for Development and the World Monuments Fund.
 2001 Restoration of the altar in front of the Casr Bint Firaun by UNESCO
 2003 Development of a conservation and maintenance plan of the ancient drainage systems to protect the rock-cut facades
 2003–2017 Evaluation of desalination and restoration at the tomb facades
 2006–2010 Preservation and consolidation of the Wall Paintings in Siq al Barid by the Petra National Trust in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and the Courtauld Institute of Art (London).
 2009 onwards, renewed effort to preserve and rehabilitate the Winged Lions Temple by The Temple of the Winged Lions Cultural Management (TWLCRM) Initiative, the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan
 2016–2019 Characterisation and Conservation of Paintings on Walls and Sculpture from Nabataean Petra "The Petra Painting Conservation Project (PPCP)", funded by the German Research Foundation (Project number 285789434).

Popular culture

 In 1845, British poet John William Burgon won Oxford University's Newdigate Prize for his poem "Petra", containing the description "...a rose-red city half as old as time".
 Petra appeared in the novels Left Behind Series; Appointment with Death; The Eagle in the Sand; The Red Sea Sharks, the nineteenth book in The Adventures of Tintin series; and in Kingsbury's The Moon Goddess and the Son. It played a prominent role in the Marcus Didius Falco mystery novel Last Act in Palmyra, and is the setting for Agatha Christie's Appointment With Death. In Blue Balliett's novel, Chasing Vermeer, the character Petra Andalee is named after the site.
 In 1979 Marguerite van Geldermalsen from New Zealand married Mohammed Abdullah, a Bedouin in Petra. They lived in a cave in Petra until the death of her husband. She authored the book Married to a Bedouin.
 An Englishwoman, Joan Ward, wrote Living With Arabs: Nine Years with the Petra Bedouin documenting her experiences while living in Umm Sayhoun with the Petra Bedouin, covering the period 2004–2013.
 The playwright John Yarbrough's tragicomedy, Petra, debuted at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre in 2014 and was followed by award-winning performances at the Hudson Guild in New York in 2015. It was selected for the Best American Short Plays 2014-2015 anthology.
 The site appeared in films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Arabian Nights, Passion in the Desert, Mortal Kombat Annihilation, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, The Mummy Returns, Krrish 3, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Samsara and Kajraare.
 Petra appeared in an episode of Time Scanners, made for National Geographic, where six ancient structures were laser scanned, with the results built into 3D models. Examining the model of Petra revealed insights into how the structure was built.
 Petra was the focus of an American PBS Nova special, "Petra: Lost City of Stone", which premiered in the US and Europe in February 2015.
 Petra is central to Netflix's first Arabic original series Jinn, which is a young adult supernatural drama about the djinn in the ancient city of Petra. They must try and stop the demons from destroying the world. The show is shot in Jordan and has five episodes.
 Six months after a deadly hike by two Israelis in 1958, Haim Hefer wrote the lyrics for a ballad called HaSela haAdom ("The Red Rock")
 In 1977, the Lebanese Rahbani brothers wrote the musical Petra as a response to the Lebanese Civil War.

Gallery

See also

Notes

Bibliography

 Brown University. "The Petra Great Temple; History" Accessed April 19, 2013.
 Glueck, Nelson (1959). Rivers in the Desert: A History of the Negev. New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy/London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

 McKenzie, Judith (1990). The Architecture of Petra. (Oxford University Press)
 Mouton, Michael and Schmid, Stephen G. (2013) "Men on the Rocks: The Formation of Nabataean Petra"
 Paradise, T. R. (2011). "Architecture and Deterioration in Petra: Issues, trends and warnings" in Archaeological Heritage at Petra: Drive to Development or Destruction?" (Doug Comer, editor), ICOMOS-ICAHM Publications through Springer-Verlag NYC: 87–119.
 Paradise, T. R. (2005). "Weathering of sandstone architecture in Petra, Jordan: influences and rates" in GSA Special Paper 390: Stone Decay in the Architectural Environment: 39–49.
 Paradise, T. R. and Angel, C. C. (2015). Nabataean Architecture and the Sun: A landmark discovery using GIS in Petra, Jordan. ArcUser Journal, Winter 2015: 16-19pp.

 UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Petra" Accessed April 19, 2013.

External links

 University of Arkansas Petra Project. Retrieved 27 March 2017
 Open Context, "Petra Great Temple Excavations (Archaeological Data)", Open Context publication of archaeological data from the 1993–2006
 Petra History and Photo Gallery, history with maps. Retrieved 27 March 2017
 Parker, S., R. Talbert, T. Elliott, S. Gillies, S. Gillies, J. Becker. "Places: 697725 (Petra)", Pleiades. Retrieved 27 March 2017
 Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
 Special Issue on Petra and Nabatean Culture, Jordan Journal for History and Archaeology, 2020
 Photos of Petra at the American Center of Research

Arabic architecture
Cliff dwellings
Former populated places in Jordan
Levant
Nabataea
Nabataean architecture
Populated places along the Silk Road
Protected areas established in 1985
Rock-cut architecture
Rock-cut tombs
Roman towns and cities in Jordan
Sandstone buildings
Subterranea (geography)
Tourism in Jordan
World Heritage Sites in Jordan

Petra


The Bell 407 is a is a light helicopter. It was designed and built in the United States by Bell Helicopters from the famous model 206. It was originally designed for civilian purposes. The Bell 407 is often used for transport, as an air ambulance, for law enforcement, news gathering, and movie making. It was changed to be used by the military including the US Army as OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.

Similar aircraft
 Eurocopter AS-350 Ecureuil.
 PZL-Swidnic SW-4.

Civil aircraft
Helicopters
407

Bell 407


The Scotch Yoke (also known as slotted link mechanism) is a reciprocating motion mechanism, converting the linear motion of a slider into rotational motion, or vice versa. The piston or other reciprocating part is directly coupled to a sliding yoke with a slot that engages a pin on the rotating part. The location of the piston versus time is simple harmonic motion, i.e., a sine wave having constant amplitude and constant frequency, given a constant rotational speed.

Applications

This setup is most commonly used in control valve actuators in high-pressure oil and gas pipelines.

Although not a common metalworking machine nowadays, crude shapers can use Scotch yokes. Almost all those use a Whitworth linkage, which gives a slow speed forward cutting stroke and a faster return.

It has been used in various internal combustion engines, such as the Bourke engine, SyTech engine, and many hot air engines and steam engines.

The term scotch yoke continues to be used when the slot in the yoke is shorter than the diameter of the circle made by the crank pin. For example, the side rods of a locomotive may have scotch yokes to permit vertical motion of intermediate driving axles.

What is essentially a Scotch yoke is used in the Tide-Predicting Machine No. 2 to generate a sinusoidal motion (sine functions).

Internal combustion engine uses
Under ideal engineering conditions, force is applied directly in the line of travel of the assembly. The sinusoidal motion, cosinusoidal velocity, and sinusoidal acceleration (assuming constant angular velocity) result in smoother operation. The higher percentage of time spent at top dead centre (dwell) improves theoretical engine efficiency of constant volume combustion cycles. It allows the elimination of joints typically served by a wrist pin, and near elimination of piston skirts and cylinder scuffing, as side loading of piston due to sine of connecting rod angle is mitigated. The longer the distance between the piston and the yoke, the less wear that occurs, but greater the inertia, making such increases in the piston rod length realistically only suitable for lower RPM (but higher torque) applications.

The Scotch yoke is not used in most internal combustion engines because of the rapid wear of the slot in the yoke caused by sliding friction and high contact pressures. This is mitigated by a sliding block between the crank and the slot in the piston rod. Also, increased heat loss during combustion due to extended dwell at top dead centre offsets any constant volume combustion improvements in real engines. In an engine application, less percent of the time is spent at bottom dead centre when compared to a conventional piston and crankshaft mechanism, which reduces blowdown time for two-stroke engines. Experiments have shown that extended dwell time does not work well with constant volume combustion Otto cycle engines. Gains might be more apparent in Otto cycle engines using a stratified direct injection (diesel or similar) cycle to reduce heat losses.

Modifications
An improved Scotch yoke, with a means of absorbing sideways thrust, was patented in 1978 by William L. Carlson, Jr., .

References

External links

Brock Institute for Advanced Studies: Scotch Yoke
"Comparing Simple Crank/Slider and Scotch Yoke Mechanisms" by Fred Klingener, The Wolfram Demonstrations Project; Active demo.

Engine technology
Linkages (mechanical)

Scotch yoke


Linda Sue Park is a Korean-American children's literature poet and novelist. Park was born on March 25, 1960, in Urbana, Illinois. She was educated at Stanford University, California; Trinity College, Dublin; and Birkbeck College, London. Many of her books are written about Korean ethnicity. She was a food journalist from 1985 to 1990. She taught English as a second language from 1985 to 2001. Park enjoys cooking, reading, and watching movies and sports in her free time.

Publications
 Seesaw Girl; 1999
 The Kite Fighters; 2000
 A Single Shard; 2001
 When My Name Was Keoko: A Novel of Korea in World War II; 2002
 The Firekeeper's Son; 2004
 Mung-mung: A Foldout Book of Animal Sounds; 2004
 What Does Bunny See? A Book of Colors and Flowers; 2005
 Project Mulberry; 2005
 Bee-bim Bop!; 2008
 Archer's Quest; 2006
 Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo; 2007
 Keeping Score; 2008
 A Long Walk to Water; 2010
 Storm Warning; 2010
 Trust No One; 2012

Awards
 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing designation, New York Public Library: 1999, for Seesaw Girl and 2004, for The Firekeeper's Son
 2005, for Bee-bim Bop!
 Newbery Medal for Project Mulberry
 Jane Addams Peace Prize Honor Award, 2003, for A Single Shard;
 Irma S and James H. Black Award finalist 2004, for When My Name Was Keoko
 2004, and CCBC Choice designation, and Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year designation, both 2005, for The Firekeeper's Son
 Chicago Tribune Young-Adult Fiction Prize, and Notable Books for a Global Society designation, and Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year designation, and CCBC Choice designation 2005 and 2006 for Project Mulberry
 ALA Notable Children's Books designation 2006, for Yum! Yuck!
 Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year designation 2006, for What Does Bunny See?
 Lion and the Unicorn Prize for Excellence in North American Poetry (2007), Book Sense Award finalist (2007), ABC Children's Booksellers Choice Award (2007), ALA Notable Book designation, 2008, nominated for various state reading association awards lists for Tap Dancing on the Roof

References

 Carlson, Ann D. "Park, Linda Sue." World Book Student. World Book, 2015. Web. Accessed 23 Mar. 2015.
 "Linda Sue Park." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Biography in Context. Web. Accessed 23 Mar. 2015.

Writers from Illinois
1960 births
Living people

Linda Sue Park


Stefan Aleksander Okrzeja (; born 3 April 1886 in Dębe Wielkie, Mińsk County, executed 21 July 1905 in Warsaw) was a Polish worker, socialist and activist for Poland's independence.

Early life and activism
Stefan Okrzeja was a son of  a railway track-walker. He worked as a painter, then as an iron worker in various factories in Warsaw. He joined the illegal Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1904, soon becoming a member of its Warsaw Committee. He took part in many anti-tsarist  demonstrations. During the famous demonstration on Grzybowski Square on 13 November 1904 he was the one who carried the red banner. He became a key member of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party that was responsible for protecting workers meetings and demonstrations and was organizing attacks against Russian police officers or high rank officials. Okrzeja distinguished himself in many combat actions as a commander of a party consisted of ten fighters.

Last action, trial and execution
On 26 March 1905, Okrzeja made an attempt to assassinate a police officer. He threw a bomb into the police post on Wileńska Street on Praga. The explosion demolished the post, but Okrzeja was within the range. Badly wounded and unable to escape, he was arrested and imprisoned in the infamous 10th Pavilion of Warsaw Citadel. According to the fact he was caught red-handed, the trial before a district court was very short, despite the passionate defence by Stanisław Patek. Okrzeja was sentenced to death and executed soon afterwards, on 21 July 1905.

Legacy
By his deeds and martyrdom, Stefan Okrzeja became a hero of Polish Socialist Party and an icon of its fight for independent Poland and workers rights. Writer Gustaw Daniłowski wrote a short story about his life. It was first published by the underground PPS printing house. When Poland regained its independence in 1918, Okrzeja was counted into a pantheon of national heroes. His name was given to the 28th Infantry Division and to a street on Praga, not far away from the place of his last combat action.

References
 Jan Tomicki, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa 1983

1886 births
1905 deaths
People from Mińsk County
Polish Socialist Party politicians
Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party members
Polish people executed by the Russian Empire
Recipients of the Cross of Independence with Swords
Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Executed people from Masovian Voivodeship
20th-century executions by Russia
Executed failed assassins
20th-century Polish criminals

Stefan Aleksander Okrzeja


Stars in Their Eyes is a British television talent series, based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format Soundmixshow. It featured a singing contest in which members of the public impersonate showbiz stars.

The show premiered on 21 July 1990 and initially ran until 23 December 2006. It was produced by Granada for ITV and originally presented by Leslie Crowther. Matthew Kelly took over in May 1993, before he was replaced by Cat Deeley in April 2004. An Elvis Presley special hosted by Russ Abbot aired in January 1993, as well as 2003 specials hosted by Davina McCall. A number of celebrity specials and a children's spin-off series were also aired during the original run.

A six-part revival hosted by Harry Hill aired from 10 January 2015 to 14 February 2015, but it was later axed by ITV due to low ratings and poor reviews. In 2022, the format was revived as Starstruck.

History
A series of non-televised pilots were filmed in 1989 hosted by Chris Tarrant. However, in February 1990, Leslie Crowther was chosen as the host of the show which began airing on 21 July 1990. Crowther hosted the first three series, and a Christmas Special in 1991. At the time of his car accident in October 1992, he was booked to record an Elvis Presley special (which was later hosted by Russ Abbot) and a fourth series (later hosted by Matthew Kelly) in 1993.

It then became clear that Crowther would not be able to return. He announced his retirement from showbusiness in November 1994 and died 2 years later. Therefore, Kelly hosted the show until the live grand final of the 15th series on 13 March 2004. Kelly announced a few days earlier that he would quit the show in order to pursue his acting career full-time. Kelly also hosted the 2001 pilot episode, and first series of the kids version in 2002.

In January 2003, Kelly was arrested by police over allegations of child sex abuse resulting in Davina McCall temporarily guest hosting the show for three celebrity specials that were broadcast the following month. Kelly returned after the charges were dropped.

Cat Deeley, who previously took over as host of the kids' version in 2003, was Kelly's replacement for the final adult series in 2005. Deeley also hosted several celebrity specials in 2004. In June 2006, ITV denied reports that the series was facing the axe although admitted that the future of the show was being discussed. Deeley hosted the show until its final episode in December 2006; the show was then axed by ITV.

The most impersonated stars are Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Cher, George Michael, Celine Dion, Kylie Minogue and Madonna.

2015 revival
Harry Hill took over as host on 10 January 2015, with all episodes pre-recorded and the winner of each show again voted for by the studio audience.

The revival proved divisive – fans of the original format were critical of it, saying that Harry Hill had made the show about him rather than the contestants; while others acknowledged that the revival was a post-modern parody of the original, with its knowing ridicule of talent show cliches such as terrible performances being overpraised, and the actions of the presenter receiving high editorial focus to distract from the outdated performance element being thinly stretched. Each episode features Harry being pursued by Adele (really a look-alike) for being in possession of her baby and she would comically chase him until she got the baby back.

In April 2015, it was announced that due to poor viewing figures, ITV would not be renewing the show for another series, and it was axed.

2022 return as Starstruck

Format
Stars in Their Eyes is a talent show where contestants get the chance to appear and sing live as a famous singer. The show is most importantly a 'soundalike' show, but they are also dressed up to look as close as possible to the singer they are impersonating, often with wigs and heavy makeup. Each contestant would walk through 'smoky' doors before instantly reappearing dressed up as their chosen star.

Heats
The contestants appear firstly as themselves, talking briefly to the host about their lives and giving clues as to who they are going to be performing as, finishing with the now famous catchphrase 'Tonight [presenter name] I'm going to be...' The contestants then disappear through the equally famous doors and reappear as the famous singer they are going to impersonate, seemingly instantly.

At the end of the show, the studio audience vote for their favourite, and the winner is announced. The winners from each show in the series return for the grand final to perform once more.

Grand Final & Live Grand Final

1990–1992, 2015
In the original Leslie Crowther version and 2015 revival, the grand finals were pre-recorded, and the winner of the whole series was voted for by the studio audience at the end of the show. The first series final in 1990 also had a celebrity panel, consisting of Joe Longthorne, Sally Dynevor and Pete Waterman, who gave their opinions after each performance.

1993–2006
When Matthew Kelly took over, the grand finals were broadcast live, and the winner of the whole series was voted for by the viewing public through the phone lines and in later years online as well. The winner was announced later that same evening in a separate broadcast.

The same process applied during Cat Deeley's tenure as host.

Episode guide

Champions

Regular series
Series 1 (1990) – Maxine Barrie as Shirley Bassey
Series 2 (1991) – Bernard Wenton as Nat "King" Cole
Series 3 (1992) – Amanda Normansell as Patsy Cline
Series 4 (1993) – Jacquii Cann as Alison Moyet
Series 5 (1994) – John Finch as Marti Pellow
Series 6 (1995) – Lee Griffiths as Bobby Darin
Series 7 (1996) – Paul Doody as Marti Pellow
Series 8 (1997) – Faye Dempsey as Olivia Newton-John
Series 9 (1998) – Jason Searle as Neil Diamond
Series 10 (1999) – Ian Moor as Chris De Burgh (also won Champion of Champions)
Series 11 (Spring 2000) – Gary Mullen as Freddie Mercury
Series 12 (Winter 2000) – Nicola Kirsch as Maria Callas
Series 13 (2001) – Emma Wilkinson as Dusty Springfield
Series 14 (2002) – Stewart Duff as Elvis Presley
Series 15 (2004) – Charles Ngandwe as Paul Robeson
Series 16 (2005) – Gordon Hendricks as Elvis Presley
Series 17 (2015) – Peter Sarsfield as Frankie Valli

Junior series
Series 1 (2002) – Charlotte Gethin as Eva Cassidy
Series 2 (2003) – Laura Jenkins as Connie Francis
Series 3 (2004) – Paul Cowperthwaite as Michael Jackson
Series 4 (2006) – Christopher Napier as George Formby

Transmissions

Main series

Stars in Their Eyes: Kids

Specials
A number of different specials were aired during the course of the show's original run, the majority of which featured celebrities as the contestants.

Non-celebrity

Celebrity

Reception

Ratings and awards
It is still one of Britain's most successful shows of all time, attracting around 13 million viewers for the live grand final at the end of each series. It has one of the most memorable catchphrases in TV history: 'Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be...' and was named Most Popular Entertainment Programme at the National Television Awards in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. The show was nominated for the same award again in 1997, 2001 and 2002 but lost out to other ITV shows (An Evening With Lily Savage in 1997, My Kind of Music in 2001 and Pop Idol in 2002).

See also
 Soundmixshow
 European Soundmix Show
 Stars in Euro Eyes 2001
 Stars in Their Eyes European Championships 2002

References

External links

Stars in Their Eyes at BFI
Stars in Their Eyes Kids at BFI

1990s British television series
2000s British television series
2010s British television series
1990 British television series debuts
2015 British television series endings
British music television shows
English-language television shows
European Soundmix Show
ITV reality television shows
Singing talent shows
Television series by Endemol
Television series by ITV Studios
Television shows set in Manchester
British television series revived after cancellation
Television shows produced by Granada Television
British television series based on Dutch television series
Cultural depictions of Freddie Mercury
Cultural depictions of Elvis Presley
Cultural depictions of Michael Jackson
Cultural depictions of Maria Callas

Stars in Their Eyes


St Andrews (; ; ) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland,  southeast of Dundee and  northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settlement and 45th most populous settlement in Scotland.

The town is home to the University of St Andrews, the third oldest university in the English-speaking world and the oldest in Scotland. It was ranked as the best university in the UK by the 2022 Good University Guide, which is published by The Times and The Sunday Times. According to other rankings, it is ranked as one of the best universities in the United Kingdom.

The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle. The settlement grew to the west of St Andrews Cathedral, with the southern side of the Scores to the north and the Kinness Burn to the south. The burgh soon became the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, a position which was held until the Scottish Reformation. The famous cathedral, the largest in Scotland, now lies in ruins.

St Andrews is also known globally as the "home of golf". This is in part because of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, founded in 1754, which until 2004 exercised legislative authority over the game worldwide (except in the United States and Mexico). It is also because the famous Old Course of St Andrews Links (acquired by the town in 1894) is the most frequent venue for The Open Championship, the oldest of golf's four major championships. Visitors travel to St Andrews in great numbers for several courses ranked amongst the finest in the world, as well as for the sandy beaches.

The Martyrs Memorial, erected to the honour of Patrick Hamilton, George Wishart, and other martyrs of the Reformation epoch, stands at the west end of the Scores on a cliff overlooking the sea. The civil parish has a population of 18,421 (in 2011).

The town also contains numerous museums, a botanic garden and an aquarium.

Name and etymology
The earliest recorded name of the area is Cennrígmonaid. This is Old Gaelic and composed of the elements  (head, peninsula),  (king) and  (moor). This became Cell Rígmonaid (cell meaning church) and was Scoticised to Kilrymont. The modern Gaelic spelling is Cill Rìmhinn. It is likely that the Gaelic name represents an adaptation of a Pictish form *Penrimond. The name St Andrews derives from the town's claim to be the resting place of bones of the apostle Andrew. According to legend, St Regulus (or Rule) brought the relics to Kilrymont, where a shrine was established for their safekeeping and veneration while Kilrymont was renamed in honour of the saint. This is the origin of a third name for the town Kilrule.

History

The first inhabitants who settled on the estuary fringes of the rivers Tay and Eden during the mesolithic (middle Stone Age) came from the plains in Northern Europe between 10,000 and 5,000 BCE. This was followed by the nomadic people who settled around the modern town around 4,500 BCE as farmers clearing the area of woodland and building monuments.

In the mid-eighth century a monastery was established by the Pictish king Oengus I, traditionally associated with the relics of Saint Andrew, a number of bones supposed to be the saint's arm, kneecap, three fingers and a tooth believed to have been brought to the town by St Regulus. In AD 877, king Causantín mac Cináeda (Constantine I or II) built a new church for the Culdees at St Andrews and later the same year was captured and executed (or perhaps killed in battle) after defending against Viking raiders.

In AD 906, the town became the seat of the bishop of Alba, with the boundaries of the see being extended to include land between the River Forth and River Tweed. In 940 Constantine III abdicated and took the position of abbot of the monastery of St Andrews.

The establishment of the present town began around 1140 by Bishop Robert on an L-shaped hill, possibly on the site of the ruined St Andrews Castle. According to a charter of 1170, the new burgh was built to the west of the Cathedral precinct, along Castle Street and possibly as far as what is now known as North Street. This means that the lay-out may have led to the creation of two new streets (North Street and South Street) from the foundations of the new St Andrews Cathedral filling the area inside a two-sided triangle at its apex. The northern boundary of the burgh was the southern side of the Scores (the street between North Street and the sea) with the southern by the Kinness Burn and the western by the West Port. The burgh of St Andrews was first represented at the great council at Scone Palace in 1357.

St Andrews, in particular the large cathedral built in 1160, was the most important centre of pilgrimage in medieval Scotland and one of the most important in Europe. Pilgrims from all over Scotland came in large numbers hoping to be blessed, and in many cases to be cured, at the shrine of Saint Andrew. The presence of the pilgrims brought about increased trade and development. Recognised as the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, the town now had vast economic and political influence within Europe as a cosmopolitan town. The Scottish Parliament met in the town in 1304, when King Edward I, in his capacity as overlord of Scotland, came to be received by Bishop William de Lamberton. As many as 130 landowners turned up to witness the event ranging from Sir John of Cambo to Sir William Murray of Fort.

In 1559, the town fell into decay after the violent Scottish Reformation and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms losing the status of ecclesiastical capital of Scotland. Even the University of St Andrews was considering relocating to Perth around 1697 and 1698. Under the authorisation of the bishop of St Andrews, the town was made a burgh of barony in 1614. Royal Burgh was then granted as a charter by King James VI in 1620. In the 18th century, the town was still in decline, but despite this the town was becoming known for having links 'well known to golfers'. By the 19th century, the town began to expand beyond the original medieval boundaries with streets of new houses and town villas being built. Today, St Andrews is served by education, golf and the tourist and conference industry.

In 1951, The Masque of St. Andrews, which dramatised important events in the town's history, was staged in the Cathedral grounds as part of the Festival of Britain.

Governance

Local government
St Andrews is represented by several tiers of elected government. Prior to 1975 the town was governed by a burgh council, a provost and baillies. From 1975, St Andrews was administered by North East Fife District Council and Fife Regional Council. North East Fife District was abolished in 1996 when Fife Council became the unitary authority. Fife Council, based in Glenrothes, is now the executive, deliberative and legislative body responsible for local governance. The Scottish Parliament is responsible for devolved matters such as education, health and justice while reserved matters are dealt with by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council, meeting on the first Monday of the month in the Council Chamber of St Andrews Town Hall, forms the lowest tier of governance whose statutory role is to communicate local opinion to local and central government. The current Chair is Mrs Penelope Fraser. The Chair uses the honorary title of Provost of St Andrews on official and ceremonial occasions, this ancient title having been revived to mark the 400th Anniversary of the granting of Royal Burgh status to St Andrews in 1620 by King James VI & I.

UK Parliament
In the early days of the United Kingdom, following implementation of the union of 1707, St Andrews elected one Member of Parliament (MP) to the United Kingdom Parliament. Following the implementation of the Reform Act 1832 St Andrews Burgh merged with Anstruther for the purposes of electing one MP to the United Kingdom Parliament. Following implementation of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, there was one MP sitting for St Andrews Burgh (which would include Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester, Crail, Cupar, Kilrenny and Pittenweem).

St Andrews now forms part of the North East Fife constituency, electing one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system. The constituency is represented by Wendy Chamberlain, MP of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. For the purposes of the Scottish Parliament, St Andrews forms part of the North East Fife constituency. The North East Fife Scottish Parliament (or Holyrood) constituency created in 1999 is one of nine within the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region. Each constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system of election, and the region elects seven additional members to produce a form of proportional representation. The seat was won at the 2016 Scottish Parliament Election by Willie Rennie, for the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Demography

According to the 2001 census, St Andrews had a total population of 14,209. The population increased to around 16,680 in 2008 and 16,800 in 2012 The demographic make-up of the population is much in line with the rest of Scotland. The age group from 16 to 29 forms the largest portion of the population (37%). The median age of males and females living in St Andrews was 29 and 34 years respectively, compared to 37 and 39 years for those in the whole of Scotland.

The place of birth of the town's residents was 87.78% United Kingdom (including 61.80% from Scotland), 0.63% Republic of Ireland, 4.18% from other European Union countries, and 7.42% from elsewhere in the world. The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 23.94% in full-time employment, 8.52% in part-time employment, 4.73% self-employed, 1.94% unemployed, 31.14% students with jobs, 9.08% students without jobs, 13.24% retired, 2.91% looking after home or family, 2.84% permanently sick or disabled, and 1.67% economically inactive for other reasons.

Economy
St Andrews, whose economy stands at £660 million, relies heavily on tourism and education. In 2016, one out of every five jobs in St Andrews is related to tourism.

St Andrews is often considered as an expensive destination. In 2016, St Andrews was reported to be home to the "Most Expensive Street in Scotland", with average house prices in The Scores in excess of 2 million pounds.

Weather and climate

St Andrews has a temperate maritime climate, which is relatively mild despite its northerly latitude. Winters are not as cold as one might expect, considering that Moscow and Labrador lie on the same latitude. Daytime temperatures can fall below freezing and average around . However, the town is subject to strong winds. Night-time frosts are common; however, snowfall is more rare.
The nearest official Met Office weather station for which data are available is at Leuchars, about  northwest of St Andrews town centre.

The absolute maximum temperature is , recorded in July 2022.
In a typical year, the warmest day should reach  and a total of 2 days should record a temperature of  or above. The warmest calendar month (since 1960) was July 2006, with a mean temperature of  (mean maximum of , mean minimum of )

The absolute minimum temperature (since 1960) stands at  recorded during February 1972, although in an 'average' year, the coldest night should only fall to . Typically, just short of 60 nights a year will experience an air frost. The coldest calendar month (since 1960) was December 2010, with a mean temperature of  (mean maximum , mean minimum  )

Rainfall, at little more than 650 mm per year makes St Andrews one of the driest parts of Scotland, shielded from Atlantic weather systems by several mountain ranges. Over 1 mm of rain is recorded on just under 117 days of the year.

Sunshine, averaging in excess of 1,500 hours a year is amongst the highest for Scotland, and comparable to inland parts of Southern England. St Andrews is about the furthest north annual levels of above 1500 hours are encountered.

All averages refer to the 1971–2000 observation period.

Transport
The St Andrews Railway provided a connection to the main Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line at Leuchars railway station. This service was ended in 1969. The St Andrews Rail Link project aims at realising a new high-speed twin-cord mainline rail link via Cupar to the south and west and via Leuchars to the north.

Nowadays, the only public transport to reach trains at Leuchars or to connect other towns in Fife is the Stagecoach bus station located near the town centre. Stagecoach's Route 99 (and its alternate routes 99A, 99B, 99C, 99D) connects St Andrews to Dundee via Leuchars with buses up to every ten minutes. Moffat & Williamson operates Route 92 (and 92A, 92B, 92C) on a lesser frequency from Balmullo via Leuchars station to St Andrews before looping the town. There are also some local bus service that links the town centre to St Andrews Community Hospital in the south.

St Andrews Bus Station provides frequent bus services to most towns in Fife and the nearby city of Dundee via Leuchars, and less frequent services to further destinations like Edinburgh and Stirling. Travellers from Edinburgh Airport may take Route 747 to Halbeath Park & Ride then take X59/X24 to St Andrews. Otherwise, they have to travel to central Edinburgh for train or bus services.

Dundee Airport, about 15 miles north of the town, has flights that connect with London-City and Belfast-City provided by Loganair.

Roads A91, A915, A917, A918 and B939 traverse the town at different locations.

Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Scotland and STV North. Television signals are received from either the Angus or Durris TV transmitters.

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Scotland, Kingdom FM, Forth 1, Greatest Hits Radio Edinburgh, Lothians, Fife and Falkirk, and St Andrews Radio, a community based station which broadcast from the University of St Andrews.

The St Andrews Citizen is the town's local newspaper  including student newspapers which are published from the University of St Andrews, The Saint and The Stand.

Landmarks

St Andrews was once bounded by several "ports" (the Lowland Scots word for a town gate). Two are still extant: So'gait port (South Street, now called West Port) and the Sea Yett (as The Pends terminates to the harbour). The West Port is one of few surviving town "Ports" in Scotland and is a scheduled monument. The towers were influenced by those seen at the base of the Netherbow Port in Edinburgh. The central archway which displays semi-octagonal "rownds" and "battling" is supported by corbelling and neatly moulded passageways. Side arches and relief panels were added to the port, during the reconstruction between 1843 and 1845.

 The Category A listed Holy Trinity (also known as the Holy Trinity Parish Church or "town kirk") is the most historic church in St Andrews. The church was initially built on land, close to the south-east gable of the cathedral, around 1144, and was dedicated in 1234 by Bishop David de Bernham. It then moved to a new site on the north side of South Street between 1410 and 1412 by bishop Warlock. Much of the architecture feature of the church was lost in the re-building by Robert Balfour between 1798 and 1800. The church was later restored to a (more elaborately decorated) approximation of its medieval appearance between 1907 and 1909 by MacGregor Chambers.

 To the east of the town centre, lie the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral. This was at one time Scotland's largest building, originated in the priory of Canons Regular founded by Bishop Robert Kennedy. St Rule's Church, to the south-east of the medieval cathedral is said to date from around 1120 and 1150, being the predecessor of the cathedral. The tall square tower, part of the church, was built to hold the relics of St Andrew and became known as the first cathedral in the town. After the death of Bishop Robert Kennedy, a new cathedral was begun in 1160 by Bishop Arnold (his successor) on a site adjacent to St Rule's Church. Work on the cathedral was finally completed and consecrated in 1318 by Bishop William de Lamberton with Robert the Bruce (1306–29) present at the ceremony. The cathedral and associated buildings, including St Rule's Church, are protected as a scheduled monument.

The ruins of St Andrews Castle are situated on a cliff-top to the north of the town. The castle was first erected around 1200 as the residence, prison and fortress of the bishops of the diocese. Several reconstructions occurred in subsequent centuries, most notably due to damage incurred in the Wars of Scottish Independence.

The castle was occupied, besieged and stormed during The Rough Wooing and was severely damaged in the process.

The majority of the castle seen today dates to between 1549 and 1571. The work was commissioned by John Hamilton (archbishop of St Andrews) in a renaissance style which made the building a comfortable, palatial residence while still remaining well-fortified.
After the Reformation, the castle passed to several owners, who could not maintain its structure and the building deteriorated into a ruin.
The castle is now a scheduled monument administered by Historic Environment Scotland.

The apse of the Dominican friary, Blackfriars, can still be seen on South Street (between Madras College and Bell Street). Other defunct religious houses that existed in the medieval town, though less visible, have left traces, as for instance the leper hospital at St Nicholas farmhouse (The Steading) between Albany Park and the East Sands leisure centre.

Education

Today, St Andrews is home to one secondary school, one private school and three primary schools.
Canongate Primary School, which opened in 1972 is located off the Canongate, beside the St Andrews Botanic Garden. The school roll was recorded in February 2008 as 215. Lawhead Primary School, which opened in 1974 is on the western edge of the town. The school roll was recorded in September 2009 as 181.  Greyfriars Primary School is a Roman Catholic school located in the southern part of the town.

Madras College is the sole secondary school in the town. The school which opened to pupils in 1833 was based on a Madras system – founded and endowed by Andrew Bell (1755–1832), a native of the town. Prior to the opening, Bell was interested in the demand for a school which was able to teach both poor and privileged children on one site. The high reputation of the school meant that many children came from throughout Britain to be taught there, often lodging with masters or residents in the town. The school was located on two campuses – Kilrymont, (which opened in 1967) and South Street (incorporating the original 1833 building). Pupils in S1-S3 are served by Kilrymont and S4-S6 by South Street.

Plans to build a replacement for Madras College on a single site have been ongoing since 2006. Originally, the school was in negotiations with the University of St Andrews for a joint new build at Lang Lands on land owned by the university. The plans, which were scrapped in August 2011, would have seen the school share the university's playing fields. In October 2011, a scoring exercise drawn up by the council to decide the best location for the new Madras College was put before parents, staff and the local community to ask for their views. A £40-million redevelopment of the Kilrymont building proved to be most popular and was officially given the go-ahead in November 2011. This decision was met with controversy from parents, staff and the local community. Following a decision from a group of senior councillors to analyse the other potential sites than push ahead with the controversial redevelopment, The new Building was finished in 2021. In August 2020, it was reported that the college will sell its Kilrymont site and built a replacement school at Langlands.

The private school known as St Leonards School was initially established as the St Andrews School for girls company in 1877. The present name was taken in 1882 when a move to St Leonards House was made. The school is now spread across thirty acres between Pends Road and Kinnesburn. A private school for boys was also set up in 1933 as New Park. The operations of the school merged with the middle and junior sections of St Leonards to become St Leonards-New Park in 2005.

The University of St Andrews, which is the third oldest English-speaking university and the oldest university in Scotland, was founded between 1410 and 1413. A charter for the university was issued by Bishop Henry Wardlaw between 1411 and 1412 and this was followed by Avignon Pope Benedict XIII granting university status to award degrees to students in 1413. The school initially started out as a society for learned men in the fields of canon law, the arts and divinity. The chapel and college of St John the Evangelist became the first building to have ties with the university in 1415. The two original colleges to be associated with the university were St Salvator in 1450 by Bishop James Kennedy and St Leonard in 1512 by archbishop Alexander Stewart and prior James Hepburn.

Sport and recreation

Golf

St Andrews is known widely as the "home of golf". According to the earliest surviving document from 1552, the "playing at golf" on the links adjacent to the "water of eden" was granted permission by Archbishop Hamilton. The most famous golf course in the town is the Old Course, purchased by the town council in 1894. The course which dates back to medieval times, is an Open Championship course – which was first staged in 1873 and will host the 2022 Open Championship. Famous winners at St Andrews have included: Old Tom Morris (1861, 1862, 1867 and 1874), Bobby Jones (1927 and 1930 British Amateur), Jack Nicklaus (1970 and 1978) and Tiger Woods (2000 and 2005). According to Jack Nicklaus, "if a golfer is going to be remembered, he must win at St Andrews". There are seven golf courses in total – Old, New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum, Balgove and the Castle –
surrounding the western approaches of the town. The seventh golf course (the Castle) was added in 2007 at Kinkell Braes, designed by David McLay Kidd.

Other leisure facilities in the town include a canoe club, a senior football club (St Andrews United), a rugby club (known as Madras Rugby Club), tennis club, university sports centre, and a links golf driving range. The East Sands Leisure Centre, which opened in 1988, sits on the outskirts of the town as the town's swimming pool with gym facilities.

West Sands Beach

West Sands Beach in St Andrews, Scotland, served as the set for the opening scene in the movie Chariots of Fire. This scene was reenacted during the 2012 Olympics torch relay. The beach was also featured in the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony

The  beach is adjacent to the famous St Andrews Links golf course. Sand dunes on the beach, which have long protected the golf course, are themselves in danger of eroding away, and are the subject of a restoration project.

Places of interest

Byre Theatre

The Byre Theatre was founded in 1933 by Charles Marford, an actor (found in the Who's Who of 1921) and Alexander B. Paterson, a local journalist and playwright, with help from a theatre group made up from members of Hope Park Church, St Andrews. The third and current building was opened in 2001 by Sir Sean Connery. Its main auditorium is named after A.B. Paterson. There is also a second 60-seat performance space named after the late golf photographer, Lawrence Levy. The theatre is said to be haunted by the benevolent ghost of Charles Marford, one of its founders.

Lade Braes Walk

The Lade Braes Walk is a scenic public footpath of about  that follows the route of a medieval mill lade through St Andrews. The walk starts in the town centre near Madras College and runs roughly westward, through Cockshaugh Park to Law Mill. The lade's function was to transport water from a higher upstream point on the Kinness Burn to the water mill in the grounds of St Andrews Cathedral Priory where it arrived at an elevated level simply by following the contours of the land. It may have been built before 1144. In the late 19th century, the lade was covered over and the area from Cockshaugh Park to Law Mill was landscaped and planted with trees. The remains of Law Mill, its grain drying kiln and water wheel are a category C listed building. A Brae is an old Scots word for the high ground adjoining a river bank.

Museum
The St Andrews Museum is a municipal museum focusing on the history of the town of St Andrews in St Andrews established in 1991 it is located in Kinburn Park. It holds a collection of objects of historical value that are related to the town from the earliest times up to the twentieth century. It is located in the historic Kinburn house named after the Battle of Kindurn during the Crimean War.

University Museum
The Museum of the University of St Andrews is a small museum dedicated to the history of the University of St Andrews. The museum, which is free to enter, looks at the university's foundation, student life at the university, and innovative ideas and inventions associated with staff, students, and alumni. The museum also shows a range of temporary exhibitions on different themes. Highlights of the displays include the university's three medieval maces, which are rare examples of ornate ceremonial University maces from the 15th century, and a large astrolabe dating from 1575.

Botanic Garden
See main article

The St Andrews Botanic Garden is an 18-acre botanical garden in the Canongate suburb to the south of the town. It contains more than 8000 species of native and exotic plants. These are laid out in zones of woodland, meadow, shrubbery, herbaceous bedding, a large rockery and a series of ponds. There are also vegetable and herb gardens, and several large greenhouses, one of which contains a butterfly house. There is an entrance fee for most visitors with some exceptions (e.g. juniors, students or faculties of the University of St Andrews).

Aquarium
The St Andrews Aquarium is located on the cliff foot of the Scores overlooking West Sands. As well as the many fish species on display, there are also penguins and meerkats.

International relations
As of St. Andrew's Day 2015, the town is formally twinned with the French medieval town of Loches, with which it had previously shared a cultural exchange for over two decades.

Freedom of the City
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the City and Royal Burgh of St Andrews.

Individuals
Stella Douglass: 2002.
 Kathryn Garrett: 1999.
 Benjamin Franklin: 1759.
 Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin: 19 July 1902.
 Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII).
 Robert Tyre Jones Jr.: 1958.
 Jack Nicklaus: 11 July 2022.

Military units
 RAF Leuchars: 1968.

See also
 All Saints Church, St Andrews
 Bishop of St Andrews
 Celtic art – Pictish stones at St Andrews.
 The New Picture House
 St Nicholas Hospital, St Andrews
 St Andrews Community Hospital
 University of St Andrews
 St Andrews Botanic Garden
 List of town defences in Scotland

References

Notes

Bibliography

 Ash, Marinell. "The diocese of St. Andrews under its 'Norman' bishops." Scottish Historical Review 55.160 (1976): 105–126 online.
 Brooks, Nicholas P., and Graeme Whittington. "Planning and growth in the medieval Scottish burgh: the example of St Andrews." Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (1977): 278–295. online
 Browne, Sarah. "'A Veritable Hotbed of Feminism': Women's Liberation in St Andrews, Scotland, c. 1968–c. 1979." Twentieth Century British History 23.1 (2012): 100–123 online.
 Butler, Richard. "The Influence of Sport on Destination Development: the Example of Golf at St. Andrews." Sport tourism destinations (2005): 274–282. online
 Cameron, Neil. "St Rule's Church, St Andrews, and early stone-built churches in Scotland." Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Vol. 124. (1994). online
 Clifford, Ben P., and Charles R. Warren. "Development and the environment: Perception and opinion in St Andrews, Scotland." Scottish Geographical Journal 121.4 (2005): 355–384.
 Dawson, Jane E. A. "'The Face of Ane Perfyt Reformed Kyrk': St Andrews and the Early Scottish Reformation." Studies in Church History Subsidia 8 (1991): 413–435.
 Duncan, Archibald A. M. "The Foundation of St Andrews Cathedral Priory, 1140." Scottish Historical Review 84.1 (2005): 1–37.
 Emerson, Roger L. Academic Patronage in the Scottish Enlightenment: Glasgow, Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities (Edinburgh University Press, 2008).
 Herkless, John, and Robert Kerr Hannay. The Archbishops of St. Andrews (W. Blackwood, 1907) online.

 Kirk, Russell. "St. Andrews: The Haunted Town" History Today (Jan 1953) 3#1 pp 22–30. online.

 Rhodes, Bess. Riches and Reform: Ecclesiastical Wealth in St Andrews, c. 1520–1580 (Brill, 2019).
 Skene, William. "Notice of the Early Ecclesiastical Settlements at St Andrews." Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland  Vol. 4. (1860) online.
 Swanson, Robert. "The University of St. Andrews and the Great Schism, 1410–1419." Journal of Ecclesiastical History 26.3 (1975): 223–245.

External links

 List of Attractions around St Andrews in order to walk round with Maps and Information
 Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council
 St Andrews Links
 Engraving of a view of St Andrews by James Fittler in the digitised copy of Scotia Depicta, or the antiquities, castles, public buildings, noblemen and gentlemen's seats, cities, towns and picturesque scenery of Scotland, 1804 at National Library of Scotland
 The Lade Braes
 St Andrews EuroWalk - online self-guided walking tour of the town

Royal burghs
Towns in Fife
Parishes in Fife
Populated coastal places in Scotland

St Andrews


The Court of Justice of the African Union was originally intended to be the "principal judicial organ" of the African Union (Protocol of the Court of Justice of the African Union, Article 2.2) with authority to rule on disputes over interpretation of AU treaties. The Court has, however, never come into existence because the African Union has decided that it should be merged with the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights to form a new court: the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR). Underlying this decision was the concern at the growing number of AU institutions, which the AU could not afford to support.

A protocol to set up the Court of Justice was adopted in 2003, and entered into force in 2009. It was, however, superseded by a protocol creating the African Court of Justice and Human Rights.

The merger protocol was adopted during the 11th African Union Summit in July 2008. The united court will be based in Arusha, Tanzania.

See also
 African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
 East African Court of Justice
 Caribbean Court of Justice

References

Organs of the African Union
International courts and tribunals

Court of Justice of the African Union


The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI, ) is located in Panama and is the only bureau of the Smithsonian Institution based outside of the United States. It is dedicated to understanding the past, present, and future of tropical ecosystems and their relevance to human welfare. STRI grew out of a small field station established in 1923 on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal Zone to become one of the world's leading tropical research organizations. STRI's facilities provide for long-term ecological studies in the tropics and are used by some 1,200 visiting scientists from academic and research institutions around the world every year.

History

Smithsonian scientists first came to Panama during the construction of the Panama Canal from 1904 to 1914.
The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Charles Doolittle Walcott, reached an agreement with Federico Boyd to conduct a biological inventory of the new Canal Zone in 1910, and this survey was subsequently extended to include all of Panama. Thanks largely to their efforts, the governor of the Canal Zone declared Barro Colorado Island (BCI) a biological reserve in 1923, making it one of the earliest biological reserves in the Americas. During the 1920s and 1930s BCI, in Gatun Lake, became an outdoor laboratory for scientists from U.S. universities and the Smithsonian Institution. By 1940, when BCI was designated the Canal Zone Biological Area (CZBA), more than 300 scientific publications had described the biota of BCI. In the Government Reorganization Act of 1946, BCI became a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) was created in 1966.

With the establishment of STRI, permanent staff scientists were hired and fellowship programs were initiated to support aspiring tropical biologists. The first director after the name change was Martin Humphrey Moynihan. A strong relationship with the Republic of Panama was formalized in the Panama Canal Treaties of 1977, which gradually transferred control of the Canal Zone to Panama. The treaties created the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, which included BCI and five surrounding peninsulas, and granted STRI custody of the monument. Panama granted STRI International Mission status in 1985 and, in 1997, the nation extended STRI's custodianship of facilities beyond the culmination of the Panama Canal Treaties in 1999.

STRI's first director after the institute's establishment in 1966 was Martin Humphrey Moynihan. Geographer and scientist Charles F. Bennett, along with his wife, Anna Carole Bennett, participated in STRI during the 1960s, assisting in the organizing of the library, researching and collecting microclimate data, and studying neotropical forests. In 1966, Bennett became an honorary Research Associate of STRI. A large collection of papers by STRI researchers at Barro Colorado Island was published as an anthology in 1982, The Ecology of a Tropical Rainforest.

STRI has an average of 350 ongoing research projects and publishes more than 400 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals every year.

Purpose
STRI's research facilities allow staff scientists, fellows and visiting scientists to achieve their research objectives. Most of STRI's staff scientists reside in the tropics and are encouraged to pursue their own research priorities without geographic limitations. The continuity of their long-term programs enables in-depth investigations that attract an elite group of fellows and visitors. Active support for fellows and visitors leverages resources further and attracts more than 1,200 scientists to STRI each year.

Academic programs
STRI hosts 10-15 university field courses every year. Participating universities include Princeton, McGill, Northeastern, Wisconsin Green Bay, Yale, Harvard, Ohio State, Arizona State, Marquette, Texas A&M Butler, Cambridge, Dartmouth College and University of Vermont. STRI also runs an intensive field course for Panamanian and Central American undergraduates. Since 1965, STRI has supported some 5,500 fellows and interns of various academic levels, from undergraduate, master and PhD students, to postdoctoral and senior researchers.

Barro Colorado Nature Monument
The Barro Colorado Nature Monument includes the 16 km² Barro Colorado Island, which is covered with tropical forest and boasts a nearly intact mammal fauna. It also includes 40 km² of surrounding mainland peninsulas covered by forests in various stages of succession, serving as a site for manipulative field experiments. The monument adjoins Panama's 220 km² Soberania National Park.

With an unparalleled store of background information reflecting almost a century of research in a protected setting, Barro Colorado Island has become a major global center for tropical research.

Barro Colorado is open for public day visits, but advance reservations must be made.

Other research sites
Although STRI is based in Panama, research is conducted throughout the tropics. The Smithsonian's Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) network (formerly CTFS, Center for Tropical Forest Science) uses standard study protocols to monitor more than 70 forest plots in 28 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. The protocols were developed on BCI in the early 1980s. More than six million individual trees representing 12,000 species are being studied.

STRI's Biological Diversity of Forest Fragments project created experimental forest fragments of 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 km² to study the consequences of landscape transformation on forest integrity in the central Amazon region. STRI marine scientists are conducting a global survey of levels of genetic isolation in coral reef organisms.

Facilities in Panama City
STRI is headquartered at the Earl S. Tupper Research, Library and Conference Center in Ancón, Panama City. STRI has other installations around Panama City including the Center for Tropical Paleoecology and Archaeology, a Canopy Access Crane system in the Parque Natural Metropolitano (with a sister crane in the San Lorenzo National Park on Panama's Caribbean slope), and the Naos Marine and Molecular Laboratories on the Amador Causeway. The marine laboratory has a dock, wet lab and scientific diving office, facilitating research in the Gulf of Panama.

The causeway, which is at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, is also home to STRI's visitor center, the Punta Culebra Nature Center, which is open year-round to the general public and school groups.

Facilities elsewhere in Panama
STRI has laboratories in the town of Gamboa, which is abutted by Soberanía National Park, the Panama Canal and the Chagres River in central Panama. The Gamboa labs facilitate research on forest ecology, animal behavior, plant physiology, evolution and other disciplines. Adjacent to Soberanía, STRI has the 700-hectare Panama Canal Watershed Experiment, which studies multiple land-use practices to determine their impact on hydrology, carbon storage and potential for reforestation.

STRI has two Caribbean marine laboratories. One is the small facility of Punta Galeta Marine Laboratory near the city of Colón, at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. The other is the Bocas del Toro Research Station, a modern marine laboratory on Isla Colón within one mile of downtown Bocas del Toro. The research station has a dock, dive locker and a fleet of small research vessels that provide access to mangrove, seagrass and coral reef ecosystems.

The Fortuna Field Station provides access to montane forest in western Panama.

STRI has a small field station is on the island of Coibita in Coiba National Park. The station provides access to the 500-km2 Coiba Island and extensive coral reef systems of the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

Notable researchers

 Noris Salazar Allen, bryologist

References

Further reading
The Tapir's Morning Bath: Mysteries of the Tropical Rain Forest and the Scientists Who Are Trying to Solve Them, Houghton Mifflin, 2001. 328 pp. A popular-science book by Elizabeth Royte which describes the researchers' life on Barro Colorado Island.

Coexistence: The Ecology and Evolution of Tropical Biodiversity, Oxford University Press, 2016. 275 pp. This book by Jan Sapp chronicles the history of tropical research as pioneered by Smithsonian scientists and their colleagues in Panama.

External links

STRI
Bocas del Toro Research Station
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute from the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Nature conservation in Panama
Research institutes in Panama
International research institutes
Biological research institutes
Smithsonian Institution research programs
Organizations established in 1966
1966 establishments in North America
Panama–United States relations

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute


Mary Barbera is an American behavior analyst and author who works on autism. She is known for her work on using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for children with autism. Her books include The Verbal Behavior Approach (2007), a book about Applied Behavior Analysis and B. F. Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior.

Education
Barbera got her Ph.D. from Alvernia University in 2011, where she wrote her thesis on fluency-based autism training. She is a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D). She also has an MSN in Nursing Administration from the University of Pennsylvania and a BSN from West Chester University (1986).

Career
After Barbera's son Lucas was diagnosed with autism in 1999, she founded the Autism Society of America's Berks County Chapter. Since becoming a behavior analyst in 2003, she has also worked as the lead behavior analyst for the PA Verbal Behavior Project from 2003 to 2010.

Since 2015, Barbera has taught classes that were based on Applied Behavior Analysis. Many clinics and organizations, including the Autism Centers of Michigan, have used her methodology.

Family
Mary Barbera is married to Dr. Charles F. Barbera, an Emergency Medicine physician. She has two sons. Her eldest son Lucas has autism, and her son Spencer is a college student.

Publications
Some publications by Mary Barbera are:
  (with foreword by Dr. Mark Sundberg and translations in over a dozen languages)
 Barbera, M.L. (2015). More talking less tantrums: Ten key components needed for effective autism programming for any age, any ability, any setting .
 Barbera, M.L. (2011). The effects of fluency-based autism training on emerging educational leaders. Doctoral Dissertation. Alvernia University.
 Barbera, M. L. (2009). Getting started with the Verbal Behavior Approach . Autism File Magazine, 30, 108-112.
 Barbera, M. L. (2007). The experiences of "autism mothers" who become Behavior Analysts: A qualitative study. The Journal of Speech and Language Pathology–Applied Behavior Analysis, 2(3), 287-305.
 Barbera, M. L., & Kubina, R. M. (2005). Using transfer procedures to teach tacts to a child with autism . The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 21, 155-161.

Selected presentations
 Barbera, M. L. (2014). Using Applied Behavior Analysis and Verbal Behavior Strategies to Improve Autism Programming for both Toddlers and Teens with Autism. Knospe-ABA.
 Barbera, M. L. (2013). Using ABA/VB Strategies to Improve Autism Programming Across the Spectrum . Kentucky Association of Behavior Analysis (KYABA) workshop, April 2013, University of Louisville.
 Barbera, M. L. (2011). Evaluating the Efficiency of Non-Traditional Staff Training in Autism Interventions. 37th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
 Barbera, M. L. (2011). Measuring the Effects of a Fluency-Based Autism Training on Emerging Educational Leaders. 37th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
 Barbera, M. L. (2010). The Verbal Behavior Approach: Home Programming for Children with Autism. 4th annual Autism Conference, "Stepping Stones to Excellence", Oct. 29-30, 2010. Florida Institute of Technology School of Psychology and Scott Center for Autism Treatment.
 Barbera, M. L. (2010). Early Identification: Pennsylvania First Signs. 36th National Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders, Autism Society of America (July 13-16, 2005).
 Barbera, M. L. (2005). Case studies of response to intervention for sites participating is PA VB Project and selected single subject efficacy studies. The Association for Behavior Analysis International 31st Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.

Further reading
 Barbera, M., and Rasmussen, T. (2007). The verbal behavior approach: How to teach children with autism (reviewed by N. C. Wilde, V. A. Evans & S. Axelrod). The Behavior Analyst Today, 8(3), 360-362.
 Barbera, M. L. (2019). Stop Playing Musical Beds: Solving Sleep Problems in Children With and Without Autism.
 Barbera, M. L. (2010). The Verbal Behavior Approach: Home Programming for Children with Autism.
 Barbera, M. L. Is it Autism, ADHD, "Just" a Speech Delay, or Typical Toddler Tantrums?

References

Other websites

 Turn Autism Around

Living people
1965 births
Autism
American psychologists
Writers from Pennsylvania
Scientists from Pennsylvania

Mary Barbera