Austrian President visits ‘impressive’ Petra

Jordan

Published: 2018-04-19 10:09

Last Updated: 2024-03-29 06:05


The Austrian President at Petra. (Twitter)
The Austrian President at Petra. (Twitter)

The Austrian President, Alexander Van der Bellen, First Lady, Doris Schmidauer and their accompanying delegation visited Petra on Wednesday as part of their official Jordan visit.

During the tour of the archaeological and historical sites of the ancient rose city, Van der Bellen explored the narrow passage (Siq), the Al-Khazneh (The Treasury), the Court and the Byzantine Church, state-run Petra news agency reported.

The president used his official Twitter account to express his fascination with one of the Seven Wonders, saying: “As part of the official visit to Jordan, we also have the opportunity to visit this special place: The Rock City of Petra. Impressive and imposing!”.

The president was received by Petra Development Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) Chief Commissioner, Falah Al-Omoush and PDTRA's Deputy Chief Commissioner, Suleiman Farajat, who briefed the president on the history of Petra and the role of the Nabateans in carving the ancient city in the rock.

Earlier on Wednesday, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah received the Austrian president and the First Lady in a ceremonial reception that was followed by a one-on-one meeting where the heads of states discussed bilateral relations, economic cooperation and the trade exchange in areas of education, agriculture and tourism.

Van der Bellen also attended the Austrian-Jordanian Business Forum where 19 Austrian companies were joined by more than 100 representatives from Jordanian companies, chambers, ministries and institutions.