I just recently came across Petra by John William Burgon:

It seems no work of Man's creative hand,
by labour wrought as wavering fancy planned;
But from the rock as if by magic grown,
eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!

Not virgin-white like that old Doric shrine,
where erst Athena held her rites divine;
Not saintly-grey, like many a minster fane,
that crowns the hill and consecrates the plain;

But rose-red as if the blush of dawn,
that first beheld them were not yet withdrawn;
The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,
which Man deemed old two thousand years ago,

match me such marvel save in Eastern clime,
a rose-red city half as old as time.

I love the last two stanzas the most. It flows on from the previous stanza concerning Ancient Greek concept of Arete through the reverence of the human body and that extension into Ancient Greek architecture. Rose-red blushing, and the dawn connecting human traits to nature and mankind through architecture.

"which Man deemed old two thousand years ago", could be referring to the site of Petra itself, and also the nostalgic contemplation of youth to escape from stress or discomfort. It is a very human thing to reflect on the past, and it is also the human spirit responsible for us to create meaning by turning rock into something even more beautiful.

The most famous line is the last one. The hyperbole captures the age and monumentality of the site, but also our appreciation of it.