Summer 1812. Southeast of the Dead Sea Johann Ludwig Burckhardt discovers monumental tombs hewn into the red rocks and describes them in his travel diaries. They are parts of Petra, ancient capital of the Nabataeans, a mysterious nomadic people who settled more than 2000 years ago, building a flourishing city in the middle of the desert. Together with Swiss archaeologists Ueli Bellwald and Stephan Schmid, filmmaker Christian Walther retraces Burckhardt's journey.