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and is remarkably well-preserved, probably because the confined space in which it was built has protected it somewhat from the effects of erosion. The name Khazneh, which means 'treasury', comes from the legend that it was used as a hiding place for treasure. In the past tribesman have come here to fire bullets at the ornamentation in the hope that they will break open a secret storage place and the treasures held within will poor down from above. This obviously never happened but the legacy of the legend means that the faade is peppered with bullet holes, which have irrevocably damaged much of its architecture. In practice, it seems to have been something between a temple and a tomb, possibly both at once. If the approach to the treasury from the Siq seems somewhat familiar to you it is because it is used as a film location in a wide array of projects. The most famous use of its visual impact is as a back drop to the closing scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but don't expect the inside of the treasury to match the film in the same way, that bit is pure Hollywood.

Behind the impressive facade, a large square room has been carved out of the rock of the cliff. The corners and walls have been squared off meticulously, but no attempt has been made to extend the excavations further or to reproduce the kind of ornate carving of the exterior. This is typical of the tombs in Petra; the interiors are as plain as the exteriors are intricate. From inside, you can look out through the doorway towards the Siq. What is remarkable about this plain tomb though is the natural array of colours that is to be found running through the walls and ceiling of the room. No artist or craftsman could have made a more glorious interior than the one that nature provided. Surrounding the open space dominated by the Khazneh are other tombs and halls mostly little more than man-made caves carved out from the rock.

To the right, the path continues between more widely spaced rock walls studded with smaller tombs, which are visible as black holes in the rock. A little further on, on the left is the giant semicircle of the amphitheatre, which had seats for eight thousand people. This area is a legacy of the Roman period and whilst impressive is a shadow of its former self. The original front wall that would have partitioned of the building is no longer present, but what remains still marks a breath taking feat of construction.

North from the Khazneh lies the massif of Jebel Khubtha

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