Petra has a huge advantage its rival Mediterranean restaurants in Lexington lack : room. The other three are confined to tight storefronts with less than a dozen tables. Petra has a huge facility, with a side room for private parties or dances, a bar in its own wing, and a patio, seen at right, wrapping around two sides for Hookah use. In addition to using that space for tables and booths, Petra has walls and nooks for two dozen Jordanian artifacts, as seen in the photos throughout these web pages. Eating here is thus a relaxing experience surrounded by authentic paintings, vases, swords, musical instruments, sculpture and other items.

The restaurant is named for that legendary city carved out of a cliff in Jordan in 600 Before Christ. It was the capital of the Nabatean Empire. As such, Petra was a major intersection of the Middle East, attracting camel caravans from as far away as Africa, Asia and Europe. By a century after Christ, Petra had been overcome by the Roman Empire but remained the center of the Arab World. An earthquake in 363 A.D. destroyed the water system and rendered Petra uninhabitable. Abandoned, the city, in a slot canyon in the desert, was forgotten. It was rediscovered briefly by the Crusaders in the 12th Century, brought back to life for 50 years, then abandoned again. In 1812 Johann Ludwig, the Swiss explorer, rediscovered it and Western scholars have been exploring its treasures ever since. The city today is one of the world's great archaeological sites. It was named a World Heritage Site in 1985 and in 2007 was named one of the Seven Wonders Of The World. Most Americans and Europeans are familiar with it mainly because it was used in the filming of various Indiana Jones and other archaeological adventure movies. The shifting desert sands have erased much of Middle Eastern history. Petra is thus a priceless source of knowledge.

Central to the Jordanian experience is the Hookah, several of which are seen at left. This is the Middle Eastern approach to smoking. The apparatus consists of a bottom bowl of glass which contains water, and a brass regulator which appears as the top. The regulator takes the smoke from the tobacco when the person inhales from the hose. Unlike pipes, cigars and cigarettes, the tobacco in a Hookah is not burned. It is cooked. The tobacco is placed in the bowl with the water and covered by a solid piece, today usually aluminum foil, with numerous small holes in it. The flavor of the tobacco is thus cooked out of it, rising to flow through the hose and reach the inhaler.

Tobacco flavors are much richer than Westerners put in their cigarettes. Petra stocks Apple, Peach, Watermelon, Orange, Watermelon, Mango, Passion Fruit, Cherry, Cantaloupe, Apricot, Lemon, Mint, Grape and Cappucino. Thus far, the most popular in Lexington have been Apple, which has subtle hints of anis (licorice), Peach and Mint.

Users will often check out a Hookah, retire to the patio, and order a drink from the bar. They will then spend a leisurely evening smoking, drinking and talking.