Petra

HEWN FROM THE SANDSTONE RANGES ON THE EDGE 

OF THE ARABIAN DESERT, THE VAST, 2000-YEAR-OLD, ROSE-RED CITY 

WAS ONCE THE HUB OF A NETWORK OF TRADE ROUTES BETWEEN 

ASIA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN

Layers of red, orange and yellow sandstone tower on either side as you wind along the narrow gorge. The rim looms 180m above, yet in places the gorge is not much wider than your 

outstretched arms. It opens into a sunlit natural piazza, the intense blue sky glaring down from above. Then it narrows once more, twisting and 

turning through the strata.Just as you think this abyss will never end, you get 

a tantalising glimpse of columns, a statue, carvings – hinting at a great edifi ce ahead. Rounding the bend 

you step into an opening the size of half a football field. Before you lies the impressive facade of Al�Khazneh (The Treasury), rising up the cliff face.

Passing between the columns, beneath the imposing pediment, you reach the inner chambers. Imagine toiling in this gloomy light, the dust-fi lled 

air in your lungs, chiselling away at the sandstone for hours at a time to create these simple rooms.Leaving the gloom of Al-Khazneh, you turn left, passing sculptures, tombs and the crumbling 

remains of an amphitheatre. You clamber onto the back of a donkey, saving your legs the 800 steps to 

the monastery on the hilltop high above. Gazing out across the craggy, rose-coloured landscape, you 

marvel at the incredible engineering required to create this once-magnifi cent city – an oasis in the harsh Arabian Desert.

Al-Khazneh

Immortalised by Hollywood in films such as Indiana Jones,Al-Khazneh was the jewel of the ancient city of Petra. This 

engineering masterpiece, built 2000 years ago, is 39m high and carved from a single monolith of sandstone. Standing at the gateway to the city, its function and construction remained a mystery for many centuries, until archaeologists found evidence to unlock its secrets.

The columned architecture, imposing sculptures and intricate carvings initially fooled archaeologists into thinking 

Al-Khazneh had been built by the ancient Greeks. While the pediment and columns reflect the classic Hellenistic style, Al-Khazneh’s actual builders 

were the Nabataeans – originally 

a nomadic tribe running enormous camel caravans across the trade routes of the Arabian Desert and on to the 

Mediterranean. Just as fashions are copied today, the Nabataeans emulated architectural features they encountered on their travels.

The Secrets of Al-Khazneh

Clues as to its function lie in the 

channels leading to basins for 

offering sacrifi ces to the dead, 

as well as the statues of the 

mythical Roman and Greek twins 

Castor and Pollux, who were linked to the underworld.