Must-see attractions in Petra

  • Jordan has so many amazing sights like Petra, wadi rum, jerash and the dead sea
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    Petra

    Petra

    The spectacular sandstone city of Petra was built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabataeans, who carved palaces, temples, tombs, storerooms and stables from…

  • Bedouin camels resting near the treasury of Al Khazneh in Petra.
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    Siq

    The Ancient City

    The 1.2km Siq, or canyon, with its narrow, vertical walls, is undeniably one of the highlights of Petra. The walk through this magical corridor, as it…

  • Sacrifice place in ancient Petra, Jordan; Shutterstock ID 19855075; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    High Place of Sacrifice

    The Ancient City

    The most accessible of Petra’s High Places, this well-preserved site was built atop Jebel Madbah with drains to channel the blood of sacrificial animals…

  • There is a person by the doorway to get a scale of the size. A classic view of El Deir, The Monastery in Petra. Shown in the context of the mountain that the facade was carved out of by the Nabataeans in the 1st century. The facade measures 50 metres wide by approximately 45 meters high.

    Monastery

    The Ancient City

    Hidden high in the hills, the Monastery is one of the legendary monuments of Petra. Similar in design to the Treasury but far bigger (50m wide and 45m…

  • Lonely Planet Traveller Magazine, Issue 71, Jordan
Petra Theatre

    Theatre

    The Ancient City

    Originally built by the Nabataeans (not the Romans) more than 2000 years ago, the Theatre was chiselled out of rock, slicing through many caves and tombs…

  • Petra - Nabataeans capital city (Al Khazneh) , Jordan. The Corinthian, Silk and Urn tomb. Roman Empire period.
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    Urn Tomb

    The Ancient City

    The most distinctive of the Royal Tombs is the Urn Tomb, recognisable by the enormous urn on top of the pediment. It was built in about AD 70 for King…

  • Palace Tomb facade in Petra, Jordan.

    Royal Tombs

    The Ancient City

    Downhill from the Theatre, the wadi widens to create a larger thoroughfare. To the right, the great massif of Jebel Al Khubtha looms over the valley…

  • Al Khazneh Temple, Petra, Nabatean Kingdom

    Treasury

    The Ancient City

    Known locally as Al Khazneh, this tomb is where most visitors fall in love with Petra. The Hellenistic facade is an astonishing piece of craftsmanship…

  • Little Petra site, Jordan.

    Little Petra Siq

    Little Petra

    An obvious path leads through the 400m-long Siq Al Barid, opening out into flat, sandy areas. The first open area boasts a temple while four triclinia –…

  • Colonnaded street leading to the Qasr al Bint in Petra, Jordan.

    Colonnaded Street

    The Ancient City

    Downhill from the Theatre, the Colonnaded Street marks the centre of the Ancient City. The street was built around AD 106 and follows the standard Roman…

  • Obelisk Tomb in Petra, Jordan.

    Obelisk Tomb & Bab As Siq Triclinium

    The Ancient City

    Between the Petra Visitor Centre and the entrance to the Siq (south side of the path), there is a fine tomb with four pyramidal obelisks, built as…

  • The ruins of the Qasr al-Bint temple in Petra.

    Qasr Al Bint

    The Ancient City

    One of the few free-standing structures in Petra, Qasr Al Bint was built in around 30 BCE by the Nabataeans. It was later adapted to the cult of Roman…

  • The Great Temple in Petra, Jordan.

    Great Temple

    The Ancient City

    A major Nabataean temple of the 1st century BCE, this structure was badly damaged by an earthquake not long after it was built, but it remained in use …

  • Djinn blocks in Petra, Jordan.

    Djinn Blocks

    The Ancient City

    About halfway between Petra Visitor Centre and the entrance to the Siq, look out for three enormous, squat monuments, known as Djinn Blocks or God Blocks…

  • Floor mosaics of Petra Church, also known as the Byzantine Church.

    Petra Church

    The Ancient City

    An awning covers the remains of Petra Church (also known as the Byzantine Church). Inside the church are some exquisite Byzantine floor mosaics, some of…

  • Palace Tomb facade in Petra, Jordan.

    Palace Tomb

    The Ancient City

    The delightful three-storey imitation of a Roman or Hellenistic palace, known as the Palace Tomb, is distinctive among the Royal Tombs for its rock-hewn…

  • Garden tomb and triclinium at Petra, Jordan.

    Garden Triclinium

    The Ancient City

    This hall was used for annual feasts to honour the dead placed in the Roman Soldier’s Tomb. The hall is unique in Petra because it has carved decoration…

  • Silk Tomb

    The Ancient City

    Next to the distinctive Urn Tomb in the Royal Tomb group is the so-called Silk Tomb, noteworthy for the stunning swirls of pink-, white- and yellow-veined…

  • Lookout

    The Ancient City

    Beyond the Monastery, this eyrie perched on a steep precipice affords breathtaking views.

  • Lookout

    The Ancient City

    One of several viewpoints across Wadi Araba is worth the extra hike from the Monastery.

  • Al Habis

    The Ancient City

    Beyond Qasr Al Bint is the small hill of Al Habis (the Prison). From the Nabataean Tent Restaurant, steps lead up the hill past a disused museum around…

  • Al Beidha

    Little Petra

    The neolithic ruins of Al Beidha date back 9000 years and, along with Jericho, constitute one of the oldest archaeological sites in the Middle East. The…

  • Sextius Florentinus Tomb

    The Ancient City

    A few hundred metres around the hill from the Royal Tombs is the seldom-visited Sextius Florentinus Tomb, built from AD 126 to 130 for a Roman governor of…

  • Street of Facades

    The Ancient City

    From the Treasury, the passage broadens into what is commonly referred to as the Outer Siq. Riddling the walls of the Outer Siq are more than 40 tombs and…

  • Temple of the Winged Lions

    The Ancient City

    The recently excavated Temple of the Winged Lions, built around AD 27, is named after the carved lions that once topped the capitals of each of the…

  • Petra Exhibition

    Wadi Musa

    Awaiting the completion of a new home (currently being built across from the Petra Visitor Centre), this excellent exhibition makes the most of more than…

  • Basin Area

    The Ancient City

    The Basin is an area just beyond Qasr Al Bint where the main wadi widens at the bottom of the valley. The area, which houses the two restaurants (Basin…

  • Obelisks

    The Ancient City

    At more than 6m high, these remarkable structures are carved out of the rock face, not built upon it: looking at the negative space surrounding them, it's…

  • Temenos Gateway

    The Ancient City

    Built in the 2nd century AD, the gateway originally had huge wooden doors and side towers. It marked the entrance to the temenos (sacred courtyard) of the…

  • Painted House

    The Ancient City

    Somewhat unique among buildings in Petra as it sports a coloured interior, the walls of this Nabataean dwelling are painted in ochres, burnt umbers and…

  • Aaron's Tomb

    The Ancient City

    Crowning the top of Jebel Haroun, this tomb encased in a 14th-century, whitewashed shrine is thought to be the last resting place of Aaron, Moses' brother…

  • Dorotheos' House

    The Ancient City

    Referring to a complex of ruined houses, rather than just one, this set of ruins earned its name from the Greek inscription on the triclinium. The…

  • Corinthian Tomb

    The Ancient City

    The badly damaged Corinthian Tomb is something of a hybrid, with Hellenistic decorative features on the upper level and a Nabataean portico on the lower…

  • Lion Monument

    The Ancient City

    Water here was channelled to pour out of the lion’s mouth from the rock face above – an example of Nabataean engineering at its most sophisticated. A…

  • Columbarium

    The Ancient City

    The multiple niches of the the enigmatic Columbarium remain a mystery; some suppose they housed votive images or urns, others say this was a dovecote for…

  • Turkmaniya Tomb

    The Ancient City

    With the bottom half of the facade missing, this tomb is remarkable for the Nabataean inscription it bears – the longest yet found in Petra.

  • Christian Tombs

    The Ancient City

    Many of these caves are marked with crosses, leading to the assumption that they may have been used for Christian burial.

  • Blue Church

    The Ancient City

    Commanding good views of the central portion of Petra, the remains of this ruined church have a stone floor.

  • Lion Tomb

    The Ancient City

    The two weather-beaten lions that lend the tomb its name face each other at the base of the monument.

  • Garden Tomb

    The Ancient City

    One of the most striking monuments in Wadi Farasa, this tomb may have been used as a temple.