The Valley Temples- Top sights in Petra

                Some of the most notable constructions in Petra are the numerous temples to gods long forgotten. The ancients channeled all of their money and energy into building these enormous houses of worship. Below, I’ve listed the best and how you can get the most out of them.

·         The Two Best Temples of Petra:

Ø  Qasr al Bint (The Temple of Dushares)-The farther of the two, this Temple is well signposted. I like this one not only because of the hugeness of it, but also because of the building chunks organized in neat columns out back.

Ø  The Great Temple- The closer, and, (In my opinion) better of the two temples. It is very well restored and quite awesome when viewed from the top

·         The best place to view both is the ridge opposite the Temple of the Winged Lions, where a less reconstructed temple stands. This is also the best place to view the Royal Tombs.

·         Make sure to get your picture in the small “theater” near the back of the Great Temple-it may be where the rich and powerful hung out in ancient times

·         Be careful of the big pits in the floor of the Great Temple-they reveal a complex network of tunnels that runs underneath the floor. Don’t fall in!

·         Another notable place is the huge stone slab in front of Qasr al Bint. This may be where sacrifices were performed

E-mail me at michaelworldtravel@gmail.com with any questions. Come on, I’m sure you have some!

A beautiful Corinthian capital. Things like these are strewn about in Petra like a junkyard, by archaeologists without the money to do anything with them.

The Holy of Holies in the Qasr-al-Bint Temple. If the Petran gods turn out to be real, I'm in trouble.

Outside the ruined Qasr-al-Bint, which may have once had a second floor

A great view of the Great Temple, from my favorite viewpoint

The small theater shaped structure in the rear of the Great Temple