The Al-Khazneh (building that appears in "Indiana Jones"), for example, is a work of century 1 a.C .: made like real mausoleum. Its façade, of Hellenistic inspiration, impresses by the dimensions: it is 43 meters of height by 30 of width. At the top of one of the mountains surrounding Petra is another work of art: the Ad-Deir, another mausoleum, but which was used in the 5th century AD as a Byzantine church. To visit it, you have to face 800 steps that lead to the top. Petra was a powerful city. The Nabataeans put her on the route of the caravans that crossed the Arabian peninsula towards the Mediterranean or the Red Sea. They have developed irrigation systems and built dams to store rainwater that falls from time to time into the desert. In its peak, the place had 30 thousand inhabitants.
Known locally as the Treasury, this tomb is where most visitors fall in love with Petra. The Hellenistic facade is an astonishing piece of craftsmanship. Although carved out of iron-laden sandstone to serve as a tomb for the Nabataean King Aretas III (c 100 BCE–CE 200), the Treasury derives its name from the story that an Egyptian pharaoh hid his treasure here (in the facade urn) while pursuing the Israelites.
Some locals clearly believed the tale because the 3.5m-high urn is pockmarked by rifle shots. As with all rock-hewn monuments in Petra, the interior is unadorned. The Treasury is at its most photogenic in full sunlight between about 9am and 11am.
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