The timber courses
Beams that probably helped it ride out earthquakes.
Fallaner — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gerd Eichmann — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gerd Eichmann — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0
Petra's main temple, and one of the few stone-built monuments left standing in a city famous for facades carved into the rock. It lies at the western end of the Colonnaded Street, almost square at about 28 metres a side and still some 23 metres high, and is believed to have been dedicated to Dushara, chief god of the Nabataeans. The authority that runs Petra dates it to the first half of the 1st century AD, though other studies place it a few decades earlier. Only priests went inside; worshippers gathered around the altar in the open courtyard, where animals may have been sacrificed. Timber beams laid between the stone courses probably helped it survive earthquakes, and it served until it was looted and burned in the late 3rd century AD. A monumental stairway climbs to the porch, where four Corinthian columns once stood, and a tall arched entrance opens into the hall. Look along the walls for the bands where the timber ran and for patches of the stucco that once dressed them, shaped like fine masonry and plant scrolls. The altar still lies before the steps, and the Temenos Gate, a Roman gateway with three passages, closes the street at the courtyard's eastern end. The temple marks the end of the Main Trail from the visitor centre, with two restaurants nearby for lunch. The Great Temple is just over 200 metres south-east, the Temple of the Winged Lions about 250 metres north-east, and the climb of some 800 steps to the Monastery starts at Qasr al-Bint's own stairway.
Beams that probably helped it ride out earthquakes.
Where worshippers gathered outside.
A Roman gate with three passages.
Western end of the Colonnaded Street, central Petra
Great Temple (Petra)The largest building in Petra, a Nabataean complex of 7,560 square metres rising3 minutes walk
PetraThe Nabataean capital carved into rose sandstone in southern Jordan, and one of 5 minutes walk4.9
Petra TheatrePetra's great theatre, also called the Nabataean Theatre, was carved into the sa10 minutes walk
Street of Facades (Petra)The Street of Facades is the row of Nabataean tombs cut into the cliffs beyond t11 minutes walk
Royal Tombs of PetraA row of huge façades carved into the flank of Jabal al-Khubtha, looking over th11 minutes walk4.7Its full local name, Qasr Bint Firaun, means Palace of the Pharaoh's Daughter and comes from a legend, not history: the daughter was promised to whoever could bring water to the palace, and when two suitors managed it at once she chose the humbler one, who gave the credit to God. The building itself was Petra's main temple.
About 3.9 km along the Main Trail, an hour and a half to an hour and three quarters of walking without stops. Golf carts also cover the last kilometre from the Theatre, for 10 JD one way or 15 JD return.