The Islamic Baydha Project
Italy, 2021, 21′
Director-Producer: Micaela Sinibaldi
Baydha is located outside Petra, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, and after the Byzantine period, it became one of the main centers of settlement in the area. Petra, contrary to what is commonly believed, was never completely abandoned after this time, but, as a consequence of the lack of maintenance of the sophisticated Nabataean hydraulic system in the valley, part of the population moved out of it, to areas offering better opportunities for water and agriculture, such as Baydha. The site of Islamic Baydha holds today the most significant and accessible evidence of Islamic-period settlement, as well as the only two mosques ever excavated in the region. The Islamic Baydha Project, part of a broader project, the Late Petra Project, investigating the Islamic period in the Petra Region, is a project of archaeological investigations, archaeological training and community engagement where these aspects work in close synergy.
