jordan - get lost in petra:

This tour cover the whole main sites of Petra
 

Day 1: Visitor center – Siq – treasury – royal tombs – urn tomb – theatre – columend street – qasr al-bint – musuem – monastery.

Upon arrival at the visitor center of Petra, check in, our representative will assist with entrance fees, horseback if interested and our tour guide will escort you to Petra starting from the main gate of Petra and walk via Siq: Over two kilometers is what you will have to walk between high pink, yellow, ochre walls to reach the famous Treasury, a narrow passageway where you will feel like in other world. You will reach the treasury: The first sight visitors see upon emerging from the 1.5 kilometer-long Siq is the Treasury (Arabic: al-Khazneh), the most magnificent of Petra's sights. One of the most elegant remains of the ancient world, the Treasury is carved out of solid rock and stands over 40 meters high. The Treasury was probably constructed in the 1st century BC. As its design has no precedent in Petra, it is thought that it was carved by Near-Eastern Hellenistic architects. The purpose of the Treasury remains something of a mystery. One thing that is fairly certain, however, is that it was not a treasury. In reality, the Treasury is generally believed to be a temple or a royal tomb, but neither conclusion is certain. The tomb/temple got its popular name from the Bedouin belief that pirates hid ancient pharoanic treasures in the tholos (giant stone urn) which stands in the center of the second level. In an attempt to release the treasure, Bedouins periodically fired guns at it — the bullet holes which are still clearly visible on the urn. When the first Western visitors arrived at Petra in the 19th century, a stream ran from Siq and across the plaza. The stream has since been diverted and the plaza leveled for the sake of tourists. And will keep walking to the theatre: Petra's theater was built in the 1st century AD. It is quite large, with a seating capacity of over 6,000 people. The theater's 45 rows of seats are divided horizontally by two diazomata. Its cavea faces north and east, to keep the sun out of the spectators' eyes. Above the cavea are numerous tomb fronts, which were destroyed to make way for the theater's upper tiers of seating. Will visit  urn tomb and east ridge tombs: These tombs are located on the East Ridge (also called the East Cliff) above Wadi Musa. Their facades are cut into the west face of Jabal al-Khubtha, a massive outcrop that towers east of the wadi and north of the Siq. As one of the most dramatic overlooks in Petra, the East Ridge was prime real-estate¹ for royal or high-status tombs. The most important tombs are named, or rather misnamed, as follows: Palace Tomb, Corinthian Tomb, Silk Tomb, and Urn Tomb. Many people believe that the East Ridge monuments are "Royal Tombs," because (aside from the Khazneh) these are the most important facades in the most important is really just a guess. And then we will keep walking on the columned street to visit the great temple: The Great Temple is situated in the city center, east of Qasr al-Bint and south of the Colonnaded Street. This is a view from near Petra Church, looking south and west from the rise across the Colonnaded Street. The symmetry of the building (see plan, above) adds greatly to its attractiveness. Its outer walls measure 54m x 140m. It is constructed on two levels. Stairs lead up from the street to a large colonnaded courtyard (lower temenos, or lower terrace). More stairs lead up from the courtyard to an upper terrace with remains of a columned hall and a small theater. The site was built out in two phases. The upper terrace was constructed first, sometime in the first century BC. It connected to the street by a central staircase. Upon the terrace, a building was raised that early surveyors first interpreted as a temple but that now looks, after further work, more like an assembly hall of some kind. The second phase of construction occurred sometime in the first century AD. A lower terrace was cut below the original one, obliterating the central staircase, and a retaining wall was built to separate the two levels. The new terrace was lined on each side by a roofed triple colonnade with exedra, and connected to the upper terrace by new stairways on either side. The upper terrace was also remodeled at this time, when the interior of its columned hall was converted into a small theatre. Will stop at the Qasr Al-Bint and start climbing up to the monastery: The great facade of the Deir measures 47m x 48m (155' x 158'), dwarfing two people seen in this photo just below the entrance. Located high in the mountains to the northwest of the city, the Deir is thought to have been carved in the mid-first century AD (Taylor, p. 98). Contrary to its name, the Deir is not a monastery (nor does it seem to be a tomb, unlike the other monumental facades of Petra). A nearby inscription seems to connect the Deir to the cult of Obodas I (96-86 BC), even though that king lived 150 years before the building was constructed (Blue Guide, p. 192). The Deir's facade is comparable to the Khazneh; in each building, the upper story is designed as a broken pediment, interrupted by a tholos that is topped by a large urn. However, the plain (though impressive) facade of the Deir lacks the fine detailing that is found on the face of the Khazneh. Evening we will walk back to the hotel, enjoy your evening at cave bar or at roof garden of Movenpick, or we you can take of of our evenings offers to have dinner at Bedouin cave under candles light.                          

Day 2: Visitor center – sacrifice high place - Pharaoh's Column –  Wadi Farasa – cave interior - Roman Soldier Tomb Complex

In the morning after breakfast our tour guide will escort you to Petra and will walk by Madras secret way to the sacrefise high place enroot in Wadi farasa visit Tomb of the Broken Pediment: The tomb is located on the road to the high place, as it passes behind the Theatre above Wadi Farasa. For once, a tomb in Petra is appropriately named; there is indeed a break in its pediment (center, top of photo). The metopes of the pediment contain raised rings, and there is a face on each end of the frieze. Below, two lions, sculpted in relief, face either side of the entrance, whose unusual "keyhole" shape is due to weathering. The tomb rests on an elevated platform that is accessed by stairs. As well will visit cave interior: This cave-tomb, with its low ceiling and multiple loculi, is located not far from the Renaissance Tomb during this tour in Petra we will visit Pharaoh's Column : The road from Qasr al-Bint to the High Place runs eastward behind the Great Temple by this lone, standing column, which is part of an unexcavated (2005) building. The column is also known as "Pharaoh's Shaft" (pun intended). It is viewed here from the south. References to Pharaoh and Moses are part of the local folklore, which holds (impossibly) that Pharaoh pursued the Israelites from Egypt to Petra after the parting of the Red Sea. The Roman Soldier tomb complex lies further along the road to the High Place. It is (mis)named after the sculpture of an armored figure on the tomb facade. Dating no later than 75 AD, this is the most complete, and one of the richest, funerary complexes in Petra. It would be appropriate for a royal burial, although as usual we do not know who was interred here. The complex has been investigated by the International Wadi Farasa Project, evening back to your hotel or we offer you a transfer to Wadi Rum, Aqaba or Petra. End.