Cistern

The Ancient City


Hilltop Nabataean cistern with wonderful views of the Theatre.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Ancient City attractions

1. Urn Tomb

0.13 MILES

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…

2. Silk Tomb

0.14 MILES

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…

3. Corinthian Tomb

0.15 MILES

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…

4. Palace Tomb

0.16 MILES

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…

5. Royal Tombs

0.16 MILES

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…

6. Sacred Hall

0.22 MILES

The Sacred Hall may have had ritual connections with the Treasury, diagonally opposite.

7. Street of Facades

0.25 MILES

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…

8. Theatre

0.26 MILES

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…