Sights

Aside from a number of revered monarchs, the Nabateans worshipped only two deities: Dushara, the god of strength, symbolized by hard, sculptured rock, and Al-Uzza (or Atargatis), the goddess of water and fertility. Still, the number of temples and tombs in Petra seems infinite. Despite cars now occasionally squeezing through the siq, a little climbing allows you to escape the tour groups that crowd the Kliazneh and inner valley. A few of the spectacular monuments are close enough to be viewed in a one-day junket, but the majority require sweaty exploration. Be sure to bring plenty of water—Bedouin selling bottled water will take advantage of your desperation.

Even before the siq, caves stare from distant mountain faces and large djinn monuments (ghost tombs) woo you. (An unsettling thought: some archeologists theorize they might be sacrificial altars.) On the left, built high into the cliff, stands the Obelisk Tomb. Closer to the entrance of the siq, rock-cut channels once cradled ceramic pipes which brought Ein Musa’s waters to the inner city as well as to the surrounding farm country. A nearby dam burst in 1963 and the resulting flash flood killed 28 tourists in the siq. While designing a new dam, excavators uncovered the ancient Nabatean dam and used it as a model for the new one.