Al Khazneh, Monumental tomb in Petra, Jordan
Al Khazneh is a monumental rock-cut tomb in Petra, Jordan, with a façade carved from red sandstone standing roughly 40 meters tall and 25 meters wide. The front shows two stories of Corinthian columns, a tholos at the center of the upper level, and relief carvings of deities and mythical creatures.
Nabataean craftsmen created the structure sometime during the first century BCE as a tomb for one of their rulers. The blend of Greek and Near Eastern design elements reflects the wide influence of trade connections along the incense routes.
Bedouins called it Khazne Faraun, or Pharaoh's Treasury, because they thought the stone urn at the top of the façade concealed gold and jewels. This story also explains the bullet marks left from attempts to break open the supposed hiding place.
A morning visit works well because full sunlight floods the pink façade and casts soft shadows between the columns. After walking through the narrow gorge, the view suddenly opens onto the entire front, which adds to the impression.
In 2003, excavations about 6 metres below the plaza in front of the façade uncovered a lower level containing several tombs, part of a sediment-buried Petra that remains largely unexcavated. Experts estimate only about 15% of the city has been dug, leaving many tombs and structures intact underground.
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