By noon, the sun is high over Petra, bleaching the coloured sandstone cliffs and temporarily emptying its celebrated ruins of tourists. Vines and a canopy keep the terrace of Mohammed Feras s cave home cool despite the searing summer heat rising from the rocky valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have lived here all my life. I\u2019ve never been anywhere else and I cannot imagine not living here. This area is part of who I am and I cannot leave it,\u201d the 44-year-old farmer and sometime tourist guide said.<\/p>\n
Within months, Feras and dozens of other Bedouin from the Bdoul community are likely to have left the caves they call home. There is little place for them in Petra as it is transformed by a major development programme that aims to build new facilities, regulate an anarchic tourist trade and provide a better experience for the hundreds of thousands of visitors<\/a> drawn to the ancient site.<\/p>\n Feras\u2019s home, which he shares with his wife and nine children, comprises four connected 2,400-year-old caves and an adjoining tent. Just a 10-minute walk away are the remains of Petra\u2019s grand temple and its colonnaded main street. It is also just a short hike from the monument known as the Treasury<\/a>, made more famous by the 1989 blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.<\/p>\n The caves occupied by the Bdoul were originally an integral part of a wealthy trading city \u2013 the thriving capital of the Nabateans for 500 years before it was annexed by the Romans in around AD100 and eventually abandoned three centuries later.<\/p>\n Feras surveys his cave home. Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n International human rights campaigners have called on Jordanian authorities to halt looming evictions. \u201cJordan\u2019s displacement of the Bdoul from their historic homes in Petra puts their culture at risk,\u201d said Adam Coogle<\/a>, a Middle East and north Africa deputy director at Human Rights Watch. \u201cThe Jordanian government should halt the relocations and respect the rights of Petra\u2019s Bedouin community.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials charged with the management and development of Petra say the Bdoul who still live on the site are there illegally. They contend that many have alternative accommodation and that their use of the caves as homes, animal shelters, shops and storerooms risks causing irreparable harm.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we want to preserve the integrity of the site for future generations then we have to stop the use of the caves for damaging activities,\u201d said Dr Fares Braizat, the chief commissioner of the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority<\/a>. \u201cEveryone in the site, whoever they are, has to abide by the law, and it is illegal for anyone to live in or use the archaeological monuments within the [site of Petra] for whatever purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n Historians say the Bdoul have lived in Petra\u2019s caves for about 200 years. Efforts to remove the community from the site began shortly after its classification by the United Nations as a world heritage site<\/a> in 1985. Then, in a deal negotiated with community leaders, thousands of people were moved to a purpose-built village nearby. Some evaded the relocation or have since moved back to their cave homes.<\/p>\n In recent years, with tourism a major contributor to Jordan\u2019s flagging economy, big investments have been made at Petra. There is a new museum, cultural village and network of walking trails. Hundreds of stalls that choked the site have been cleared away, as have guides who harassed visitors. An effort has been made to cut down on overnight stays in caves being offered to tourists on social media or popular booking sites.<\/p>\n Feras\u2019s five-year-old daughter outside the family home. Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n