Wadi Musa 3.84

Wadi Musa is a town located in the Ma'an Governorate in southern Jordan. It is the administrative center of the Petra Department and the nearest town to the archaeological site of Petra. It hosts many hotels and restaurants for tourists, and there is an important Bedouin settlement approximately 2km from the town.EtymologyWadi Musa means "Valley of Moses" in Arabic. It is said that the prophet Moses passed through the valley and struck water from the rock for his followers at the site of Ain Musa ("Moses's water spring" or "Moses's Well"). The Nabateans built channels that carried water from this spring to the city of Petra. Wadi Musa was also nicknamed the "Guardian of Petra". The Tomb of Aaron, supposed burial site of the Biblical Aaron, the brother of Moses, is on nearby Mount Hor.DemographicsAs of 2009, Wadi Musa's population was 17,085, with a male-to-female sex ratio of 52.1 to 47.9 (8,901 males and 8,184 females), making it the most populous settlement of the Petra Department. As of the 2004 census, Petra Department, which includes Wadi Musa and 18 other villages, had a population of 23,840 inhabitants. The population density of the town was 2.3 people per dunam, or 23PD/ha, and the population growth rate was 3.2%.