Page 107 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Israel & Petra
P. 107
Petra ❮❮ 105
Little Petra
9 WALK TO THE HIGH PLACE OF
SACRIFICE
5 miles (8 km) N of Wadi Musa
Siq alBerid (Cold Canyon) is
commonly known as “Little Petra,” Basin Restaurant
Qasr el-Bint
because it looks like a mini replica
of the main city. A small gorge con
taining an unadorned temple leads Broken Pediment Theater
to the town, which was possibly Tomb
where Petra’s wealthier merchants Roman Soldier High Place of
Tomb of the
Sacrifice
lived. Innumerable façades, temples, Garden Lion Monument
stairways, and cisterns reward Tomb
exploration. A particular attraction MORNING
is the Painted House, whose interior
plasterwork is adorned with grape The High Place of Sacrifice was
vines, flowers, and images of the Petra’s most important sacrificial
Greek gods Eros and Pan. center. Two paths lead to it today,
and the round trip takes between
2 and 3 hours. The more impres
sive route begins shortly before
the Theater (see p103), marked
at the start by Djinn Blocks (see
p35). The ascent is gradual but
taxing. The summit, at 3,000 ft
(914 m), is marked by a large
terrace and two obelisks. Further
north, a second plateau contains
a rockcut cistern and the two
sacrificial altars of the High Place
of Sacrifice. The views are excep
tional, stretching all the way to
Aaron’s Tomb, a white shrine at
the top of Petra’s highest peak.
Follow the other path back down,
which finishes in Wadi Farasa
(see p105) near Qasr al-Bint.
Steps go past the Lion Monument
representing the goddess
The ruins of Little Petra alUzza; water once poured from
the lion’s mouth. A series of steps
Qasr al-Bint
0 then leads past colored rocks to
the shel tered Garden Tomb,
MAP C3
The fanciful Bedouin name “Qasr which is topped by a cistern.
alBint alFaroun” means the Further along, the Tomb of the
“Palace of the Pharaoh’s Daughter.” Roman Soldier is named after the
However, it is more likely that this figure of a Roman official that is
grand edifice was Petra’s most carved into a niche. A Triclinium,
sacred temple, built in the 1st located on the opposite side of
century BC. The impressive Temenos the tomb, has an ornately carved
Gate signals your arrival at Qasr interior. Down the path is the
alBint’s sacred precinct – it is still Broken Pediment Tomb, followed
by the Renaissance Tomb. Three
possible to make out remnants of urns adorn the arched entrance.
the decorative plasterwork and The track widens here, leading
marble veneers on the walls. The visitors back to the city of Petra.
huge stone slab at the base of Stop for a bite at the Basin
the steps was probably an altar to Restaurant at the far end of
the sun god Dushara. The Crusaders the city before leaving.
used Qasr alBint as a stable.
See map on p102
102-105_Top_10_Israel.indd 105 19/06/2017 12:58
