Travel Destination Blog

Petra, once the capital city of Nabataeans (9 B.C. – 40 A.D.), is worthily shortlisted to be one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. This mountainous city is really incredible with its numerous carved structures and can be a perfect destination for your eastern travel.

The main entrance to the city of Petra is through the narrow passage known as Siq, which leads to Petra’s most howling and popular touristic attraction–El Khazneh. This wondrous (about 1574.8 inches high and 1102 inches wide) monument was probably built in the first century B.C.

Today, you can admire El Khazneh thanks to the Nabataeans’ smartness. They not only found the way to control the flow of the nearby streams, but also supplied the city with a water management system and created their little oasis in the ancient desert of Wadi Araba. That’s how they managed to survive in such a rough and unpleasant environment and built the rattling city, which is known as the Rose-Red City of Jordan.

The architecture of El Khazneh isn’t purely Nabataean, it’s an appealing mixture of Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultures.

You can stand for hours in front of this marvelous structure and admire its wonderful frontage decorated with incisions, columns and a fantastic sculpture of an eagle. Figures of Castor and Pollux–Zeus’s sons, El-Uzza–the goddess of fertility, make the view even more mysterious.

But be ready to get disappointed when you enter….

You will not find a single trace of that breathtaking vision when glancing at El Khazneh from inside. The interior of the building is nothing but several empty square rooms with no decorations or attributes.

The purpose and function of El Khazneh is still a mystery. Although El Khazneh is translated as “The Treasury,” one thing is for sure–it was not used as a treasury. Such conclusion is drawn because no treasures were found in the urn (central part of the second level) during the archeological digs.

Possibly it was built as a temple, or as a royal tomb. However, none of these assumptions is certain.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t restrain us from considering El Khazneh the real treasure of Petra and one of the most exciting and must-see monuments in the world. So if you are looking for a historic and interesting travel destination for your summer holidays, do not hesitate to choose El Khazneh, Jordan.

Photo © peuplier

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