Plan Your Visit: Hear Petra

Speaker Biographies

Dr. Khairyeh Amr
Archaeologist specializing in ceramics and an expert on Nabataean pottery; author of numerous articles on the Nabataean ceramics industry and typology at Petra; former editor of the Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (ADAJ); senior archaeologist of the Jordan National Museum Project.

Mr. Bjorn Peter Anderson
Archaeologist and art historian completing his dissertation at the University of Michigan on the relationship between architectural decoration at Petra and the design of Persian and Parthian buildings.

Mr. Neal Bierling
Educator and archaeologist whose experience includes the Tel Miqne excavations, a Philistine site, and recent work in Petra on the Blue Pulpit project and documentation of the Beidha (Umm Quassa) region; chairperson of Calvin's exhibition education program and teacher at Ada Christian School in Ada, Michigan.

Dr. Patricia Bikai
Archaeologist with a specialization in Phoenician sites, especially ceramics; director of two projects in Petra, excavations at the Blue Pulpit and documentation in the Beidha (Umm Quassa) region; associate director of the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Jordan; editor of the ACOR publication series, including several Petra books.

Dr. Pierre Bikai
Archaeologist with a specialization in dendrochronology of the east Mediterranean; director and administrator of the Blue Pulpit project and numerous other archaeological site conservation and development projects in Jordan; director of the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) since 1991.

Mr. Douglas Comer
Specialist in cultural site research and management using remote-sensing and GIS technology; director of the development of the Petra National Park as a world heritage site for the International Council on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS).

Dr. Bert de Vries
Historian and archaeologist with a specialization in the architecture of Hellenistic and Islamic sites, including Nabataean Umm el-Jimal; professor of history and director of the archaeology minor at Calvin College; former director of the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Jordan.

Dr. David Graf
Historian and epigrapher with a specialization in Nabataean and Roman-era history of Jordan-Syria; archaeological work includes surveys of Roman roads and research in trade connections of Nabataean and Roman Arabia, publishing of Nabataean and other contemporary inscriptions; participant in 2004 excavations in central Petra; professor of history at the University of Miami.

Dr. Martha Sharp-Joukowsky
Director of the Petra Great Temple Project and author of numerous books, including The Petra Great Temple; professor of archaeology; director of the Brown University Center for Old World Archaeology; former president of the American Institute of Archaeology.

Mrs. Widad Kawar
Specialist in traditional village and nomad costumes and customs of Jordan and Syro-Palestine in Amman, Jordan; creator and curator of numerous museum exhibitions of traditional costumes and artifacts, and author of numerous articles, catalogues and books on the subject; owner of one of the finest Syro-Palestinian costume collections in the world.

Dr. Glenn Markoe
An art historian with a specialization in Mediterranean antiquities; curator of classical and Near Eastern Art at the Cincinnati Art Museum; creator and curator of Petra: Lost City of Stone, at the Cincinnati Museum of Art; author and editor of numerous books on Mediterranean antiquities, editor of Petra Rediscovered, published especially for the Petra Exhibition.

Dr. Clarence Menninga
Geologist with archaeological specialization on the excavations at Abila, Jordan, including ceramic petrography; lecturer on the geology of Jordan, including the Dead Sea region and the Rift Valley; emeritus professor of geology and geography at Calvin College.

Dr. Bethany Walker
Historian-archaeologist with a specialization in the Islamic eras of Jordan, Palestine and Syria using combined expertise in Arab economic texts and Islamic ceramics; director of two Islamic-era archaeological projects in Jordan; professor of history at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.

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