The Monastery - Ad Deir

The Monastery is reached after a climb of some 850 to 900 "steps" , or in some cases, boulders or slippery slopes from the main street of Petra. Full confession here - I cheated and took a donkey for all except the last 150. Saved my body and beat the crowds. I was apparently the sixth person to get there that day.

Again, you round a corner and suddenly there it is. Stunning. The huge thing (47m wide and 48m high) was carved out of solid rock around 50 AD. It was given the name by the Bedouin because there were crosses carved in it when it was used by the Byzantines. However, it is believed that it was built as a temple by a cult devoted to an old Nabataean King Obodas who died 9BC.Read more