Lower Temenos


The lower section of the Great Temple, with its stepped enclosure, is thought to have been a sacred part of this major monument, the whole of which occupies 7000 sq m. There's little to see but stepping across the threshold at least gives a sense of the grand scale of the original structure.


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1. Great Temple

0.01 MILES

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 …

2. Colonnaded Street

0.02 MILES

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…

3. Upper Market

0.03 MILES

Shops would have lined the Colonnaded Street along the front side of this colossal and as yet unexcavated building.

5. Upper Temenos

0.04 MILES

It is worth climbing to the upper part of the Great Temple to gain a sense of the enormity of a structure that would once have occupied 7000 sq m. It is…

6. Temenos Gateway

0.05 MILES

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…

7. Royal Palace

0.06 MILES

In making your way up to the Temple of Winged Lions, you might wonder what the old pile of stones opposite represents. Spread over a broad platform, this…

8. Temenos

0.08 MILES

The temenos was the sacred courtyard of the Qasr Al Bint and separated the commercial area of the city from the sacred area of the temple.