The Siq is a narrow, winding gorge that stretches for one point two kilometers through towering sandstone cliffs, forming the primary entrance to the ancient city of Petra. Created by tectonic forces that split the mountain in two, the…
Essential Petra
This walk takes you through the most famous monuments of the ancient Nabataean capital, starting from the dramatic Siq gorge and ending at the monumental Monastery high in the hills.
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1. Al-Siq
2. The Treasury
The Treasury, or Al-Khazneh, is defined by its massive, ornate facade chiseled directly into the vertical pink sandstone cliff at the end of the Siq canyon. Standing nearly forty meters high, this first-century structure served the…
3. Nabatean Theatre
The Nabatean Theatre is recognizable by its vast, semicircular auditorium carved directly into the rose-red sandstone cliffside. Constructed during the first century under the reign of King Aretas the Fourth, the structure demonstrates a…
4. Urn Tomb
The Urn Tomb is recognizable by the large, lidded stone vessel carved into the center of the pediment at its highest point. This monumental structure, one of the Royal Tombs of Petra, was hewn into the face of the Jabal al-Khubtha cliff…
5. Byzantine Church Petra
The Byzantine Church in Petra is marked by a wide protective canopy that shields its excavated ruins from the elements. Constructed around the middle of the fifth century on a ridge overlooking the city center, this triple-aisled basilica…
6. Colonnaded Street
The Colonnaded Street is marked by a line of stone columns that rise from the center of Petra’s ancient valley floor. During the second century, Roman engineers straightened and paved this path, replacing an earlier, winding Nabataean…
7. Great Temple
The Great Temple stands out in Petra for its massive, terraced footprint, which covers over seven thousand square meters of the city center. While its name suggests a traditional house of worship, the complex lacks a standard altar or…
8. Qasr al-Bint - Temple of Dushara
The Qasr al-Bint, or Temple of Dushara, is one of the few free-standing buildings in Petra that was not carved directly into the surrounding sandstone cliffs. Built around thirty BC, it stands as a prominent rectangular structure on a…
9. AlDayr
Al-Dayr, known as the Monastery, is distinguished by its colossal scale, measuring roughly forty-eight meters wide and forty-seven meters high. Carved directly into a high mountain cliff during the mid-first century, it ranks as one of the…