El Khaznah. Jordan. Petra. Al-Khazneh. Remade after a decent flood. The ancient city of Petra, Jordan: description, photo, where it is on the map, how to get there
The highlight of Petra is undoubtedly the El Khazneh Temple-Mausoleum.
Of course, the guides try their best to surprise the next group of tourists.
Our guide gathered us all on one side of the Sig gorge and attracted our attention with a story about the temple. At one point he said, now look to the left..
And an amazing picture opened up to us - it was visible among the rocks: a temple-mausoleum, placed on all advertising products about Peter.
Al-Khazneh (which translates from Arabic as “treasury”) -
Nabatean temple of the Hellenistic era in Petra in the territory of modern Jordan.
Al-Khazneh Temple is widely known in the world thanks to the film by Steven Spielberg
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(just like the Ta Phrum Temple became known to most after the filming
fantasy action movie "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider")
and therefore is the most popular attraction in the area.
The treasury is a monumental building carved entirely out of rock in the 1st century.
The order façade of the building is 40 meters high and 25 meters wide.
According to one version, the temple was built by the Nabatean king Arethas IV Philopatra as his own tomb.
Over time, the original purpose of the building was forgotten.
The Arabs believed that during the time of Moses the Egyptian pharaoh kept his treasures here, hence the name.
According to another local legend, robbers who attacked caravans hid their treasures in the temple.
The photograph shows traces of shots fired at the vessels.
According to legend, people hoped that treasures were walled up there.
Amazing creation of human hands
But how, how was it performed?
What tools and equipment?
Remains a mystery...
There were rocks piled up all around, and a souvenir shop was doing business in front of the temple.
The temple is amazing!
The time allotted for wandering was steadily running out, and I moved further down the gorge 
on the way back, a new group of tourists, closing their eyes, moved towards the “Happiness to contemplate the opening view of this marvelous temple, carved into the rocks 
A small settlement of the Accra people arose here. In the first half of the 16th century. The Portuguese landed on the coast of what is now Ghana. They built a fort here, which was destroyed by Africans in 1578. Subsequently, several colonial fortifications were erected on the site of modern Accra: the Dutch Fort Ussher (1605), the Danish Christiansborg Castle (1659), and the English Fort James (1673).
European colonialists exported slaves and gold. Accra developed into an important trading center. Until the end of the 19th century. Accra was a hub for the bustling slave trade, as well as the gold and palm oil trade. There was a fierce struggle between Europeans for the possession of the wealth of the Gold Coast (the name given to the country by the colonialists). By the middle of the 19th century. The coastal regions of what is now Ghana became a British colony. In 1876-1957 Accra was the seat of the colonial authorities of the Gold Coast.
After World War II, the struggle for the country's national independence intensified. The independence of Ghana was proclaimed in 1957. In 1960, Ghana became a republic, Accra - its capital, seat of the president and parliament.
Accra is a spacious city surrounded by greenery. The established city core with business and commercial districts is adjacent to the old port adjacent to Fort James. The central part is enclosed in a semi-circle of the wide Ring Road. The main thoroughfare of the city, Independence Street, runs from the port.
The administrative center of the capital was created on the ocean shore - Black Star Square with the monument to the Unknown Soldier, a place for demonstrations and mass rallies. From the north, the square adjoins 28 February Street, passing under the monumental Arch of Freedom, on which the words “Freedom and Justice” are inscribed. In this part of the city are concentrated the residence of the President of the Republic, parliament, the national bank, the Central Library of Ghana, the Cocoa House, the Ambassador Hotel, the State House complex of buildings, specially built for holding large international conferences and meetings, and large shops. This is the most comfortable and modern area, built up with new multi-storey buildings. In this area there is a stadium and a hippodrome, which have become prominent structures in the capital.
A large residential area grew in the vicinity of Fort Christiansborg. It is built up with small beautiful cottages, entwined with greenery. In the northeast of the city, the proletarian New Town district arose, where many of the country's industrial enterprises are concentrated.
North of Ring Road is the Achimota area. It houses a well-planned complex of buildings of a state university, opened in 1961, which trains specialists in a wide range of professions. Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences established.
Accra is a renowned center for the production of gold and silver products. Vocational training schools train gold and silversmiths. They teach the finest crafts of wood and bone carving, for which Accra is also famous. A fine collection of gold and silver, bone and wood, and African ceramics is on display at the National Museum, opened in Accra in 1957.
Accra is a very green city, on the streets there are many mango trees, papaya trees, coconut palms (on the coast), oleanders, and banana trees.
One of the capital's attractions is the Makola market. Sellers at the market, “mammis” (mothers), sell shoes, clothing, haberdashery and many other goods, as well as vegetables and fruits. Women sometimes carry a whole stall of goods on their heads.
Women are dressed in kente - the national dress of Ghana, consisting of two pieces of fabric: one of them is wrapped around the hips, it is worn like a long skirt, and the other covers the upper body, forming a kind of blouse. Kenta is not supposed to be pinned or buttoned, there is a kind of art to wearing it. Kente is the symbol of Ghana.
The ancient city of Petra, Jordan: description, photo, where it is on the map, how to get there
Ancient city of Petra- a unique rock city, the main attraction of Jordan. This “pink” city is so popular that hundreds of thousands of tourists visit it every year. They say about him: “He is as old as time itself.”
Cities of Tajikistan
Petra is included in the 1000 best places in the world according to our website.
The fact of the antiquity of this unusual city is indicated by the mention of it in the Bible. The first settlement in the city dates back to the existence of the state of Idumea, which was approximately 2-4 thousand years ago. Later, the Nabatean kingdom was formed on this territory, of which Petra was the capital.
The uniqueness of Petra lies in the fact that it is located at an altitude of more than 900 m above sea level in a narrow canyon. This inaccessible location was chosen by the Nabatean Arab nomads for protection purposes. And even the famous Roman commanders could not get there through the narrow gorge. The original name of the city was Sela, which meant “stone” in the local dialect. Later the Greeks renamed it in their own way, maintaining the meaning.
From the 1st century AD Petra nevertheless became part of the Roman Empire. Local craftsmen erected buildings of incredible beauty right in the red sandstone rock. In order to escape from drought and properly use rainfall, they built dams, cisterns and aqueducts.
Due to what happened in the 4th century AD. After the earthquake, the city was left desolate, with only a few nomads remaining. And starting from the 6th century, Petra was completely abandoned until 1812, when it was discovered by the Swiss traveler I. L. Burckhardt. He had long wanted to find a city lost in the rocks in the Middle East. Pretending to be a merchant, he was able to find out from the Bedouins where the Nabataean ruins were located.
In fact, all the buildings of Petra belong to 3 periods: Idumean, Nabataean and Roman. What was built after the 6th century has practically not reached us. According to some sources, in the 12th century, knights of the Teutonic Order took refuge in Petra. It is interesting that this mysterious city has not been fully explored. In modern times, Petra has more than once become the location for the filming of famous films.
Sites available to tourists include the Siq Gorge, the Pharaoh's Treasury, 80-meter cliffs with ancient inscriptions and carved limestone niches for statues. One of the city's most popular attractions is Al Khazneh (Treasury of the Pharaohs). This is a huge temple-mausoleum, presumably built in the 2nd century AD.
Another outstanding building is the Ed-Deir Monastery. Crosses are carved in places on its wide walls, indicating that it once housed a Christian church. No less interesting are two Roman buildings - the Palace and Urn tombs. The city has hundreds of rock chambers, the facades of which can convey the history of this ancient area.
Petra can be reached by tour buses or taxis in 3 hours from Amman and 1 hour 50 minutes from Aqaba. The chance to visit the rock city also comes to those who are on vacation in Egypt or Israel. Day excursions to the attraction are regularly organized from Taba, Eilat and Sharm el-Sheikh.
Photo attraction: Ancient city of Petra
Road in the rocks to Petra
Al-Khazneh Temple-Mausoleum
Al-Khazneh Temple-Mausoleum
Al-Khazneh Temple-Mausoleum
Al-Khazneh Temple-Mausoleum
Ancient city of Petra
Amphitheater
Ancient city of Petra
The ancient city of Petra on the map:
History of Ganja
The birthplace of the great Nizami, a monument of ancient culture, the city of Ganja is located on the northeastern foot of the Lesser Caucasus, on the Ganja-Gazakh lowland, on both banks of Ganjachay. This city, which played a big role in the socio-economic, political and cultural life of Azerbaijan, was located at the intersection of caravan roads, where travelers stopped and foreign scientists enjoyed conversations. Turning over the pages of a rich history, in every line we meet traces of the ancient city, hear its voice and feel its breath. 
There are different points of view about the history of the formation of Ganja as a city. Some attribute the foundation of the city to the period BC, while the majority - to the beginning of the Middle Ages. Speaking about the history of the city, we must not forget that it was formed as a socio-economic and cultural center. Ganja, like other cities of Azerbaijan (Kabala, Nakhichevan, Sheki, Shemakha), should be considered as a settlement that had a favorable geographical location and gradually turned into a city.
One of the evidence of the age of Ganja can be considered the mausoleum of Jomard Gassab (Gassab - butcher), who lived during the reign of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abu Talib (656-661) and was distinguished by his justice and honesty. At a time when the population of the city professed idolatry, he secretly accepted the faith of Muhammad. The fact that someone could change their views and faith only secretly suggests that in this already in the 7th century there was a strong political power and an influential clergy in Ganja. 
Back in the 40s, during archaeological excavations, researchers came to the conclusion that there were settlements on the territory of Ganja even before our era.
There are also different opinions in the interpretation of the toponym "Ganja". The toponym (“Janza” among the Arabs, “Ganza” among the Georgians) was perceived as a Pahlavi word, which meant treasure, treasure, place for storing crops. None of these interpretations have a scientific basis. According to Resler, this term is inherent in the Azerbaijani language. Another consideration notes that this term is associated with the name of the Ganjak tribe, which is closer to the truth. Science has long proven the existence of this tribe. A number of places in Azerbaijan and Central Asia are associated with the name of this tribe. Historians of Central Asia dispute and prove that they are descendants of this tribe.
In the first half of the 7th century. Ganja was destroyed by the Persians, and in the second half by the Arabs. At the end of the 7th century. the city was turned into a battle arena between Arabs and Khazars. The Derbendname notes that at the beginning of the 7th century and in the 8th century. The territory of Azerbaijan was repeatedly raided, as a result of which Ganja suffered significantly.
After Barda, the capital of Arran, Ganja begins to play an important role in international trade, caravans often stopped here. Arabic dinars and dirhams were in circulation. 
Starting from the 10th century, when Barda lost its role as a capital, Ganja began to play an important role in the socio-economic and cultural life of the country. Trade and craft occupy an important place in the life of the city. There is economic potential here for the development of crafts. Iron, copper, alum and other mines located near Ganja supplied artisans with raw materials. As Ganja formed as the capital of the country, special attention was paid to strengthening the military power of the city. Already during this period, fortress walls were built and ditches were dug around. 
This photograph shows the remains of the once majestic Ganja fortress. In the foreground you can see the corner tower of the fortress, another tower is located somewhere in the distance about 600 meters in the part marked with a red arrow. This wall runs along the bank of Ganjachay, which was once a natural barrier, but now is a river that constantly undermines the already dilapidated walls of the fortress.
In the IX-X centuries. In connection with the weakening of the caliphate, independent feudal states of the Shirvanshahs, Sajjadis, Salaridis, and Raevadis began to appear in Azerbaijan. In the middle of the 10th century. Ganja, which was in the hands of the Salaridites, then became the capital of the Shadadites. During the reign of Fadlun I (895-1030), Ganja became even stronger. The Shadadites built a fortress, palaces, bridges, caravanserais here and began minting money. A new, stronger fortress was built around the city. 
In 1063, the blacksmith Ibrahim made the famous gates of Ganja. As Ganja turned into a major center, its territory expanded and new commercial and industrial districts were built. Silk and products made from it won the sympathy of buyers not only in local bazaars, but also in foreign ones. Ganja was also considered a religious center. Thus, the seat of the Albanian Catholic Church was transferred from Barda to Ganja. Gatran Tabrizi wrote about this period as follows: “Now Ganja has turned into a paradise.” 
In the middle of the eleventh century. Azerbaijan was subjected to Seljuk invasions. After the capture of Tabriz, Toghrul I (1038-1068) moved towards Ganja in 1054. The ruler of Ganja Shavir agreed to become a vassal of Togrul Bey. He presented him with an expensive gift and a khutbah was read in his honor. The Seljuk invasions did not stop. In the 70s of the 11th century.
where is the city of Gulfara
Fadlun III, the ruler of the Shadadites, seeing the senselessness of the war, surrendered, but after some time, taking advantage of the opportunity, he returned to power. In 1086, the Seljuk ruler Malik Shah (1072-1092) sent his commander Bugay to Ganja. Despite strong resistance from the local population, the Seljuks captured the city. During the war, the ruler of Ganja, Fadlun III, was captured and thus ended the reign of the Shadadite dynasty, which ruled for more than 100 years. Malik Shah entrusted the rule of Ganja to his son Ghiyas ad-din Tapar. Giyas ad-din Muhammad Tapar, even after his election as Sultan (1105-1117), still remained one of the main residents of the Seljuk rulers of Ganja. In the first half of the 12th century. Ganja was invaded by Georgians several times; in response, Seljuk troops invaded Georgia and plundered it. 
Another event associated with Ganja was a huge earthquake that occurred on September 25, 1139. Kirakos Gyanndzaketsi wrote: “...Fog and clouds shrouded the mountains and plains, a terrible earthquake occurred. Ganja collapsed... As a result of this, Kapazdag collapsed and collapsed on the rivers that flowed from the ravines, blocking their path. This is how the lake was formed.” Lake Gek-gel (Gek-sinee, gel-lake) is currently located on the territory of the reserve of the same name and is one of the most picturesque places in Azerbaijan. But the author forgot to mention or did not know then about seven other lakes formed as a result of this earthquake and also distinguished by their rare beauty. These are Maral-gel, Dzheyran-gel, Ordek-gel, Zaligelyu, Aggel, Garagel and Shamlygel. 
Taking advantage of the destruction of the city and the absence of the city's ruler, the Georgian feudal lords carried out an invasion, seized many trophies and took with them the famous gates of Ganja. The remains of this monument of material culture of Azerbaijan are still located in the courtyard of the Kelat Monastery in Georgia.
Long internecine feudal wars weakened the Seljuk state. This created conditions for the strengthening of local feudal lords and the emergence of new states. One of them was the Atabey state, founded by Shamsadin Eldaniz. Ganja became the seat of this state in Arran. Beginning of the XII-XIII centuries. can be called the heyday of Ganja, the second capital of the Atabek state, because thanks to the fact that its products became known far beyond the borders of the country, it rose to the level of the “mother of Arran cities.” The fabric that was produced here and was called “Ganja silk” was highly appreciated in the markets of neighboring countries and the Middle East.
Petra
Geographical position
Jordan| latitude and longitude (decimal): 30.32921 , 35.44238
In southwest Jordan, halfway from Dead Sea to sea Red(Gulf Aqaba), 200 km south of Amman, a little west of the town Wadi Musa in the governorate Maan at an altitude of 900 m above sea level and 660 m above the surrounding area in a narrow rocky canyon there is a landmark that has become the main “calling card” of the country. In Arabic it is called Al Batra(), which comes from the Greek Petra(- stone, rock). This is an ancient city in the rocks. 
Gorge leading to Petra
Meanwhile, “Petra” is far from the first name of the ancient city. No one will probably say which people settled here for the first time. Too many events, too many tribes. But most often it is associated with the Nabateans.
In general, the area surrounding present-day Petra has been developed by man since the ancient Stone Age. The Bronze Age made these places strategically important (copper was mined 25 kilometers from Petra). Tradition attributes the creation of the city in the inaccessible mountains to the Midianite king Rekem. The city was also named after the king. Rekem. 
Petra
In the Bible, the area around Petra is associated with Edomites (Edom) - rivals of the Jews who did not allow them, led by Moses, pass through your lands.
From the 3rd century BC e. Idumea (Edom) became part of a larger association of Semitic tribes - Nabatean kingdom. And the capital of Nabatea became Petra with its unique location in the depths of a natural rock “fortress”. Nabatea found itself on the border of two rival young empires: the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Western and Central Asia. Caravan routes passed through its territory; Petra always remained a tasty morsel for conquerors, but remained impregnable. Only the Romans were able to first carry out partial Romanization as independent allies, and then practically annex the Nabataean kingdom, forming a province on its territory Arabia Petraea. After separation Roman EmpireArabia stayed for Byzantium, but the Arab tribes enjoyed significant independence. Petra was captured by the Sasanian Persians, later returned by the Byzantines, but it entered into Arab(Islamic) caliphate. Petra remained abandoned and forgotten somewhere in the 8th century, when the Abbasids came to power in the caliphate and moved the capital to Baghdad. A Swiss researcher has rediscovered the ancient city and correlated it with Petra. Johann Ludwig Burckhardt only in 1812
But this is already a fairly new story; we are interested in pre-Islamic Petra.
Where is Zul'Farrak located?
Petra
Petra's most famous building is the temple Al Khazneh or Khazne al-Farun. The Arabic name literally means “treasury”, “treasury”: the Arabs were sure that the pharaohs kept countless treasures somewhere in it (most often they talk about the central urn carved above the entrance).
The temple is entirely carved out of rock. The entire front plane of the rock is hewn and a majestic order facade is formed in it, 40 m high and 25 m wide. 
Petra, Al-Khazneh Temple, camels
The original purpose of the temple and the identity of its customers remain controversial. What is certain is that the ancient architects were not just acquaintances, but lived in Greek (Hellenistic) culture. Researchers note the similarity of the design of Al-Khazneh with the architecture of Hellenistic Alexandria.
According to one version, El-Khazneh was the temple of Isis; according to another, it was built by the Nabatean king Aretha IV Philopatra specifically as his own tomb. Recent research has indeed discovered a burial chamber under the temple. 
Al-Khazneh, view from above
The Al-Khazneh Temple gained worldwide fame and enormous popularity, “playing” in Spielberg’s adventure film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” In the cinema, behind the majestic façade, no less majestic and mysterious rooms were revealed, and tourists are usually very disappointed when they arrive in Petra and do not find Hollywood details inside Al Khazneh. 
Petra, "monastery" Al-Deir, mortuary temple of the 1st century. BC BC, erected in honor of the deified Nabataean king Obodata I
The hydraulic structures of the Nabateans are no less famous than the El-Khazneh temple. The position of the Nabatean capital was good for everything except the water supply. The area here is arid, precipitation is rare and has a pronounced seasonality. The Nabateans built a skillful system of dams, drainage tanks, tunnels, and gravity canals filled with rivers Ain Musa, which made it possible to prevent seasonal floods and at the same time provide water to the city’s 30 thousand population. 
Peter, mosaics on the floor of the nave of a Byzantine church 450-550.
Under Roman rule, Petra was Christianized. Since 350 there was even an episcopal see here. A church decorated with elaborate mosaics was built around 450, and many ancient structures were used for religious purposes.
Excursions to Petra are included in the plans of almost every excursion tour in Jordan. Additionally, Petra is an extremely popular destination for excursions from the Israeli beach resort of Eilat.
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In ancient times, the most prosperous cities were those along trade routes. The city lay among the rocks on the route between Arabia and the Mediterranean, where the caravan route ran through the waterless Arabian desert until it ran into the shady valley of the fertile Siq River, which was particularly distinguished by its grandeur and luxury.
Here the ancient people of Edom built the city of Petra (Jordan), completely hewing it out of the rock. Previously, there were more than 800 different religious buildings in the city, from temples to tombs, but only a few have survived to this day. One of the greatest secrets of the ancient world can be considered the incredible El-Khazneh temple, hewn right into a sheer rock, a grandiose building by the architects of antiquity.
Historians believe that the ruler of the Nabataean kingdom decided to build El-Khazneh in the 1st century BC in honor of the powerful goddess Isis. According to another version, it was erected in the 2nd century as the tomb of King Arethas IV Philopatra. There is no reliable information, but there are a huge number of myths associated specifically with the temple. They say that even King Solomon hid his countless treasures here.
Until today, scientists have not understood how the titanic two-tier facade of Al Khazneh, reaching a height of more than 40 meters, decorated with colossal columns, was created. It was possible to build forests and carry out work from them, but there is no forest suitable for these purposes for hundreds of kilometers around. Some believe that they carved the El-Hazre Temple by hanging over the abyss on special basket mounts. But how it was possible to achieve that clarity, symmetry and beauty is completely unclear.
The majestic temple of Al-Khazneh jealously guards its secrets, allowing numerous tourists, about half a million of them come here every year, just to touch the monumental creation of their ancestors, giving them the opportunity to get closer to the boundaries of the unknown. But you can only penetrate the building, which is no less colossal inside than outside, but the depths of the secret, sacred meaning remain hidden from view.
How to get there:
There are excursions from some resorts: Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), Eilat (Israel) and Aqaba (Jordan). For example, from Israel a tour will cost about 200 USD, from Egypt - about 300 USD.
If you want to get there on your own, the closest airport to Petra is in the capital of Jordan - Amman. You can also fly to Damascus (Syria), and then take a taxi to Amman, which will cost about $30. Shuttle buses from Amman depart from the Wihdat bus station, will take about 3 hours and cost 3 dinars.
It is possible to travel from Egypt to Aqaba (Jordan) by ferry from the port of Nuweiba (130 km from Sharm El-Sheikh), which runs daily at approximately one o'clock in the afternoon. Price – $45. A taxi ride from Aqaba costs about 30 dinars one way, and a round trip will cost 45-50 dinars.
Find out how much the trip will cost you:
To find out how much a trip to the Al Khazneh Temple will cost you, simply enter your departure city in the search form and click the “FIND” button. Aviasales will find you the best deals, and book tickets directly on airline or hotel websites.
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Temple of Al Khazneh is a Hellenistic-era Nabatean temple in Petra in modern-day Jordan. The name of the temple is translated from Arabic as “treasury”.
This is due to the fact that the purpose of the building is unknown, but the Arabs believed that during the time of Moses the Egyptian pharaoh kept his treasures here, hence the name. According to another local legend, robbers who attacked caravans hid their treasures in the temple.
The temple is a monumental building carved entirely out of rock in the 1st century. The order façade of the building is 40 meters high and 25 meters wide.
According to one version, the temple was built by the Nabatean king Arethas IV Philopatra as his own tomb. Many researchers suggest that from the very beginning it was a temple of the goddess Isis. No one knows how the temple was built at that time. Before the actual construction of this mausoleum, the builders had to chip away at the surface of the rock. How they did this without special scaffolding also remains a mystery. There are not even trees in this area to climb onto the rock. Many features of the monument indicate that it could have been built by craftsmen familiar with the techniques of architecture of Alexandria of Egypt.
Al-Khazneh Temple is widely known around the world thanks to Steven Spielberg's film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and is therefore the most popular attraction in the area.
Petra, the new wonder of the world, is usually talked about as a single complex, and the names of specific objects already escape attention. Everyone who has heard about Petra has also seen photographs of the cyclopean structure of the complex itself, but the name can rarely be remembered by any non-specialist. This is a treasury – in Arabic “El-Khazneh”. UNESCO archaeologists have been working here for quite some time and they are in no hurry to announce to the world what kind of object this actually is - a temple, a tomb, a real treasure depository, or all of this together, or something else.
In the 8th century BC. The seventh king of Judah, Amaziah, captured the city and renamed it Ioktel. In the 3rd century BC. Petra became the capital of the Nabataean kingdom. It can be assumed that nature itself created a convenient place for a temple or tomb with a deep cave in the rock. The ancient craftsmen, working in the 1st century AD, only needed to remove the excess and decorate the facade.
“El Khazneh” - a grandiose facade of pink stone 40 meters high and 24 meters wide - is the first thing a traveler sees when leaving the Siq canyon. The location for construction was not chosen by chance. Perhaps the predecessors of the Nabateans already stored treasures here.
Temple Al Khazneh, Petra, Jordan
Surely, in addition to the main entrance, there were deceptive passages, traps, tunnels in the rocks for the passage of soldiers and the evacuation of treasures; perhaps such tunnels could stretch for many kilometers. If you go around the treasury along the road from the north, you can see numerous entrances to the caves, the vast majority of them are blind, but in ancient times everything could not have been so - time, weathering and earthquakes even change the rocks. A little-known fact is that several underground floors of the treasury have been excavated. Approaching close to the façade, you can see excavations covered with gratings.
It's hard to say what secrets these floors hold. Unfortunately, access to the premises of Al-Khazneh is closed, probably due to the possibility of collapse and damage to archaeological sites. We have to confine ourselves to an external inspection and conjecture about the purpose of building this grandiose structure. If you carefully examine the façade up close, and the upper parts through binoculars, fragments of completely different states of preservation look amazing: clear column capitals and smooth ribs, polished internal walls contrast sharply with weathered sculptures.
Temple Al Khazneh, (inside view) Petra, Jordan
One of the first explorers of Petra in the 20th century was the Russian archaeologist M.I. Rostovtsev, a world-famous scientist. In his work “Caravan Cities,” he did not express himself definitively either about the time, or about the methods of creating the treasury, or about its exact purpose. He only hypothesizes that this building could have been a temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis or the great Nabatean moon goddess Allat. Rostovtsev also expresses doubts regarding the architectural style, attributing it either to the beginning of the 1st century BC, or to the 3rd century AD.