Petra was elected as a headquarter of the Nabateans for the reason that it was situated in a basin bordered by mountains of sandstones. There are several routes that lead into the capital, but not a single of them are unchallenging, and in case the gorges are closed, it is nearly unfeasible for any person to get inside the city.
The key doorway to Petra is known as the Siq. It comprises of walls that are about 650 ft in altitude. This canyon as well as the shrine at the edge of the city was highly popularized in American society owing to the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Out of the entire 800 engraved mausoleums in Petra, the most famous one is the Kazneh. The name Kazneh stands for “treasure”. It was derived from the Bedouin idea, which states that the Pharaoh when pursuing the Israelites concealed his riches inside the vase at the crown of the Kazneh. Tomb porticos were constructed from top end to bottom. Scaffolding was constructed and later channels were made through the rock. Inside these channels wooden pieces were inserted, which when damped, expanded and fractured the hard rock.
Approximately around 30,000 inhabitants might have resided inside Petra in the 1st century AD. It was a popular misapprehension through the centuries that the city was meant for the deceased. In 363 AD a significant earthquake shattered all most half of the capital and the city failed to recover from this massive destruction.
The Monastery, in Petra is considered to be the biggest tomb portico and it is about 50 m in width and 45 m in altitude. Regardless of its name, the Monastery was created as a tomb shrine and its name might have derived from the crosses engraved inside. Similar to the Kazneh, the building comprises of two levels with a splendid urn being carved on the crown.