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and at this point, three large structures, known as the Royal Tombs have been carved into the rock face, which is known as the King's Wall. It is unclear which kings are referred to, or whether this is simply another popular name with no basis in historical fact. After some smaller tombs, the next major structure is the badly weathered Corinthian Tomb, which resembles a smaller version of the Khazneh, followed by the Palace Tomb, which was built in imitation of a Roman palace. The facade of this tomb is also badly weathered, and the rooms behind are small and undecorated.

Although the descriptions I give here seem to suggest that Petra is a lot of the same thing over and over again, well it is. But that's not to say that even after seeing twenty of these facades, they will become boring. Even the smallest of the carvings are an experience to behold, especially when seen in their location and context, and the biggest of them take your breath away every time.

If like most people who visit the site you are only here for a day trip, this is probably the limit of what you will see, but it is only a fraction. As our guide Waleel put it so succinctly, " I have given you a bit of the apple, one day you must come back to savour the rest of the fruit". For there is a lot more to see, but really you need to be based in the area and be prepared to spend a whole day or even to the bask in its glory. For example, some distance away from the Royal Tombs, to the north, there is one more tomb, which was built in AD 130 for the Roman governor of the city under Hadrian, Sextius Florentinus. This is a much more modest affair, a 6 metre facade in front of a small chamber in which the administrator was presumably buried. The facade is badly weathered, but the patterns in the exposed sandstone are striking.. The heart of Petra lies about the open ground of the Wadi Musa. A broad track from the Khazneh leads to the main street of Roman Petra, which was paved with cut stone and lined with columns. Towards the amphitheatre is an open marketplace and a nymphaeum or public fountain. At the opposite end is the Temenos Gateway, which marked the entrance to the courtyard of the Temple of Dushara. The Temple, popularly known as the Qasr al-Bint Firaun ("The Castle of Pharaoh's Daughter"), was a large free-standing structure, built of massive blocks of yellow sandstone. It has been extensively restored. Dushara was the principal god of the Nabataeans; his partner, the fertility goddess Atagartis,

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