What is the setting of Petra: City in Stone by T. L. Higley?

This novel takes place in the city of Petra around the year 106 AD. The city of Petra itself is a historical city (6th century BC) found in Jordan. The city is carved almost completely out of the surrounding rock, and is a breathtaking display of architectural design and aquatic cultivation. The novel describes Petra as laying "within a sandstone gorge, cut into the mighty mountains of Arabia as though the finger of a god had carved a slit through the dark red stone and hidden a city away" (Page 36).