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1. The Siq (the narrow winding valley that leads in to
Petra).
2. Before you reach the Siq, you will notice three
square free-standing tombs on your right. No evidence of
bones has been found, but it may be that these are a
type of tombstone.
On the left, built high into the cliff, stands the
Obelisk Tomb, which once stood seven meters high. Five
graves were found inside the tomb, four represented by
pyramid-shaped pillars and the last by a statue between
the middle pillars.
3. Closer to the Siq, rock-cut channels once brought the
waters of Ein Mousa through ceramic pipes to the inner
city as well as to the surrounding farm country. When
designing a new dam, excavators uncovered the Nabateans'
ancient dam and used it as a model for the modern one.
4. As you enter the Siq, the path narrows to about five
meters and the walls tower over 200 meters overhead,
casting enormous shadows on the niches that once held
icons of the gods Dushara and al-Uzza.
5. Al-Khazneh (Arabic for "the Treasury"). One of the
most elegant remains of antiquity, it is carved out of
solid rock from the side of a mountain, and stands over
40 meters high. Although it served as a royal tomb, the
Treasury gets its name from the legend that pirates hid
their treasure there, in a giant stone urn which stands
in the center of the second level. Believing the urn to
be filled with ancient pharoanic treasures, the Bedouins
periodically fired guns at it: proof of this can be seen
in the bullet holes which are clearly visible on the
urn.
6. As the Siq turns right and leads down toward the
city, the number of niches and tombs increases, becoming
a virtual graveyard in rock arching around behind the
8000-seat "Amphitheater". Originally thought to have
been built by the Romans after their defeat of the
Nabateans in 106 CE, it is now believed that the
Nabateans cut the Amphitheater out of the rock around
the time of Christ, slicing through many caves and tombs
in the process.
7. Under the stage floor were store rooms and a slot
through which a curtain could be lowered at the
beginning of a performance. Through this slot a marble
Hercules was discovered several years ago.
8.
The Royal Tombs: The first is the Urn Tomb, with its
open terrace built over a double layer of vaults. The
room inside measures 20 by 18 meters and the patterns in
the rock are striking. The Urn Tomb commands an
impressive view and was once used as a church in
Byzantine times. Next along is the Corinthian Tomb,
allegedly a replica of Nero's
Golden Palace in Rome. Finally, the Palace Tomb is a
three-story imitation of a Roman palace and one of the
largest monuments in Petra. The tomb had to be completed
by attaching preassembled stones to its upper left-hand
corner.
9. Around the corner to the right is the Mausoleum of Sextus Florentinius, a Roman administrator under Emperor
Hadrian.
10. Continuing down the Siq, several restored columns
mark the sides of the paved Roman colonnaded street.
Along the colonnaded street you will see the ruins of
the public fountain, or Nymphaeum.
11. At the northwestern end of the colonnaded street is
the triple-arched Temenos Gateway, which was originally
fitted with wooden doors and marked the entrance into
the courtyard, or "Temenos", of the Qasr al-Bint.
12. The Temple of the Winged Lions: This was named after
the carved lions that adorn the capitals of the columns.
The temple was dedicated to the fertility goddess Atargatis, who was the partner to the main male god,
Dushara. It is an immense Byzantine Church rich with
mosaics. Each of the side aisles of Petra Church is
paved with 70 square meters of remarkably preserved
mosaics, depicting native as well as exotic or
mythological animals, as well as personifications of the
Seasons, Ocean, Earth and Wisdom. The church is thought
to have been a major fifth- and sixth-century cathedral.
13. The piazza of the Qasr bint al-Faroun: (in Arabic,
"Palace of the Pharaoh's Daughter"). This Nabatean
construction dates from around 30 BCE, and is also known
as the Temple of Dushara, after the god who was
worshipped there. It was probably the main place of
worship in Nabatean Petra, and it is the only
freestanding structure in Petra.
14. Just beyond the Qasr al-Bint is the small massif of
al-Habis.
15. You can make the longer hikes to Umm al-Biyara
which may be the biblical precipice of Sela.
16 Al-Beidha, or the six-hour hike to the top of Mt.
Hor and Aaron's
Tomb (in Arabic, Jabal Haroun). The easiest of these
climbs is up to the Crusader castle, or Citadel, on top
of al-Habis.
17. Petra's
most spectacular constructions, al-Deir
 "The Monastery".
To truly experience Petra's
immensity and power, a visit here is essential. The
climb leads up the hillside, but the ancient path is
easy to follow and not steep.
18. The Lion Tomb: set in a small gully. The two lions
that give it its name can be seen facing each other at
the base of the tomb.
19. One of the more popular hikes is the High Place of
Sacrifice: This one-and-a-half hour trip is best done in
the early morning with the sun behind you. Follow the
right prong when the trail levels and forks at the top
of the stairs. The top of the ridge has been flattened
into a platform, and two large depressions with drains
show where the blood of sacrificial animals flowed out.
There are also altars cut into the rock, along with
obelisks and the remains of buildings used to house the
priests.
20. The Garden Tomb, which archaeologists believe was
more likely a temple.
21. The Tomb of the Roman Soldier and the 4 (Feast
Hall), which has the only decorated interior in Petra.
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