Upper Market

The Ancient City


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


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Ancient City attractions

1. 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…

2. Great Temple

0.03 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 …

3. Lower Temenos

0.03 MILES

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…

4. Upper Temenos

0.05 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…

5. Middle Market

0.06 MILES

It is likely that the shops of the upper market would have continued along this portion of the Colonnaded Street.

6. 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 Gateway

0.08 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…