Petra Rephotographed : A Century of Change in the Rose Red

Petra Rephotographed represents an exploration of time and change across the iconic archaeological city of Petra, Jordan, through repeat photography––meticulously replicating historic images of the landscape and monuments a century later.

In the early 1920s, retired civil engineer Sir Alexander Kennedy set out to explore and photograph the archaeological wonder of Petra, an ancient city of ruins nestled in the striking Jordanian Highlands. Armed only with a field camera of the day, Sir Kennedy captured the Rose Red City’s magnificent features: dramatic stone façades, sweeping vistas, and hewn carvings—shedding light on what was then a mostly untouristed region. One hundred years later, Dr. Kaelin Groom, a noted heritage scientist and geographer with over a decade of experience in Petra, retraces Sir Kennedy’s footsteps with a modern field camera, meticulously rephotographing his 100-year-old images in the contemporary landscape. Studying Petra a century later, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Dr. Groom visualises the profound resiliency of the indomitable Rose Red City through modern imagery and observes the influence humans have had on the landscape for generations. Petra Rephotographed takes the reader on a historic photographic journey, incorporating meticulously replicated images of the past which help the reader visualise changes and evolution of the archaeological city’s iconic monuments and timeless landscapes.