Ad Deir (45)

Al-Deir, or "the Monastery," is the largest rock-cut monument at Petra, Jordan. Carved in the first century CE, probably during the reign of the Nabataean king Obodas I, it features a facade roughly 47 meters wide and 48 meters high, crowned by a tholos topped with a nine-meter urn. Perched on a plateau northwest of the city center, it is reached via a path of around 800 steps cut into the rock. Its modern name derives from its probable use as a church during the Byzantine period, as evidenced by crosses carved inside. Less ornate but more massive than the Khazneh, Al-Deir offers an exceptional panorama over the surrounding desert mountains. 

Al-Khazneh (42)

The Khazneh, or "Treasury," is Petra's most iconic monument, carved in the first century CE into the pink sandstone cliff at the end of the Siq gorge, in Jordan. Its 43-meter-high facade, adorned with Corinthian columns and Hellenistic-inspired pediments, likely served as a temple or the tomb of a Nabataean ruler. Its modern name comes from a Bedouin legend claiming that treasure was hidden inside the urn carved at the top of the facade. The first dramatic sight offered to visitors at the end of the narrow Siq passage, the Khazneh showcases the technical mastery of Nabataean craftsmen and remains today one of the most recognized symbols of Jordan's cultural heritage. 

Colours (21)

Sandstone in pink, red, orange, yellow, white and golden… 

Royal tombs (43)

The royal tombs of Petra form a group of monumental facades carved into the flank of Jebel al-Khubtha, in Jordan, east of the Nabataean theater. They include the Urn Tomb, converted into a Byzantine church in 446, the Silk Tomb, notable for the colorful veining of its sandstone, the Corinthian Tomb, whose eroded facade echoes the Khazneh, and the Palace Tomb, whose three tiers draw on Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome. Carved between the first and second centuries CE to house the burials of Nabataean rulers and high dignitaries, these monuments reflect the architectural exchanges between Petra, Rome and the Hellenistic East. 

The city centre (66)

The center of Petra is organized along the Colonnaded Street, the ancient city's main thoroughfare, once lined with shops and renovated during the Roman period. It links the Nabataean theater, which could seat up to 8,500 spectators, to the Great Temple, a vast sanctuary of more than 7,000 m² completed in the first century BCE, and then to Qasr al-Bint, one of the few structures at Petra built rather than carved into the rock. Standing 23 meters high, this temple dedicated to the god Dushara was the city's principal place of worship. This monumental heart, once crossed by merchants and pilgrims, reflects Petra's role as a thriving trading crossroads between Arabia, the Mediterranean and the ancient Near East. 

The Siq (63)

The Siq is the winding natural gorge that forms the main entrance to Petra, in Jordan, roughly 1.2 kilometers long and, in places, only a few meters wide. Formed by the erosion of a rock fault, this cleft in the pink sandstone was shaped by the Nabataeans, who carved an irrigation channel into it to bring water from the springs of Wadi Musa into the city. Its steep walls, rising several dozen meters, gradually plunge visitors into shadow before suddenly opening onto the facade of the Khazneh. This obligatory passage, both a natural defense and a hydraulic feat, remains one of the most striking moments in discovering the archaeological site.