Petra: The Rose-Red City Carved from a Cliff — and the Questions It Still Keeps

The Treasury (Al-Khazneh) at Petra, Jordan: a tall sandstone facade carved from the cliff, with six Corinthian columns, a triangular pediment and a central round tholos, seen from the end of the Siq

About 6 min readFor centuries the West believed Petra was lost. It was never lost to the people who lived beside it — but the city the Nabataeans carved from living rock still guards its secrets: who lies in the Treasury, how a desert city held tens of thousands, and why it fell silent.