Petra Site Features

El-Khazneh

The Treasury (or El-Khazneh) features an intricately carved facade filled with Nabataean gods and mythological figures -- Medusa heads, the horse-like figures of Pollux and Castor, winged Victories, and dancing Amazons. Roughly 800 individual monuments are scattered through Petra in total, lining streets of temples, arched gateways, baths, tombs, and funerary halls carved from the same sandstone. The square in front of El-Khazneh's facade also served as a filming location for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Nearby, in the same courtyard, are the Bab Al-Siq Triclinium and the Obelisk Tomb -- the Triclinium a rock-cut chamber lined with carved benches. Further into the city, the Street of Facades, a 3,000-seat Theater, and the Royal and Urn Tombs continue the same pattern. The Royal Tombs are believed to hold Nabataean kings, while the Urn Tomb's small niches lead to individual burial chambers.

The city center

At the center of the archaeological complex are the remnants of the Nymphaeum, a public fountain dedicated to water nymphs, and the Colonnaded Street, which leads to the Temple of the Winged Lions. At its end, the Arched Gate -- a ceremonial entrance of Greco-Roman design -- opens onto the Qasr Al-Bint Temple.

Qasr Al-Bint Temple

With walls rising 23 meters, this is Petra's most important temple, built in honor of Dushara, a deity later associated with the Greek god Dionysus. It holds three interior rooms centered on a stone god-block.

Al-Habees Museum

For more on Nabataean culture, the Al-Habees museum and the nearby Habees High Place are worth the climb. Higher still, the High Place of Sacrifice sits atop Attuf Ridge, one of several elevated monuments scattered through the wider site.