The Siq is an immense geological fracture in Jordan’s sandstone plateau barely three meters wide in places. As you walk between sheer cliffs rising eighty meters into the desert sky, the winding corridor shields you from sunlight. And then, without warning, the narrow gorge yields a sliver of carved rose stone: Al-Khazneh (The Treasury) carved directly into the living rock face.
For two millennia, this desert metropolis sat at the crossroads of the incense and silk trade routes, thriving through the ingenious hydraulic engineering of the nomadic Nabataean civilization.
The Mystery of Petra by Night
At dusk, four thousand handmade candles in paper bags illuminate the stone plaza in front of the Treasury. Bedouin musicians play traditional rebab fiddles while mint tea is served in small glasses under the clear desert constellations. The shadows dancing on the classical Hellenistic pillars create an unforgettable connection to the ancient caravans that rested here two thousand years ago.
“Match me such marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time.” — John William Burgon
Climbing to the Monastery (Ad Deir)
Most tourists depart after seeing the Treasury, but the true prize of Petra requires climbing 850 hand-carved stone steps up through mountain gorges to Ad Deir (The Monastery). Measuring nearly fifty meters wide and forty-five meters tall, this monumental facade sits on a windswept plateau with panoramic views across the Jordan Valley and the Araba desert.
