Petra - Jordan - page 344

preceded by three steps. This is a motab, or repository, where the god statues involved in
the procession would have been kept. Next to it is the circular altar, reached by another
three steps; stone water-basins nearby were used for cleansing and purifying.
The faint bleat of sheep or the clunk of a goat bell evokes the ancient scene - except
that no ordinary person would have been permitted to enter this holy of holies at that time.
Cast an eye across the superb panorama in front of you - far above the mortal goings-on
of both ancient and modern city - and it's easy to see how this site must have seemed
closer to the sky than the earth.
To reach the High Place of Sacrifice, look for a flight of steps signposted just before the
Theatre, after the Why Not shop. The steps are well maintained, if unremitting, and it
takes about 45 minutes up through the crevices and folds of the mountain to reach the ob-
elisks. From here you fork right to reach the altar area. The route is steep but not unduly
exposed, so is manageable (unless you suffer from severe vertigo) even without a head for
heights. You can ascend by donkey (about JD10 one way), but you'll sacrifice both the
sense of achievement on reaching the summit and the good humour of your poor old
transport. From the altar area, descend the shelves of rock to a broad rim: about 50m
down are regal views of the Royal Tombs.
It's worth sitting here for a while. From this lofty vantage point you can watch the
everyday dramas of camel handlers arguing with their mounts, young children moving
goats from one patch of sparse vegetation to the next and Bedouin stallholders regaling
the unsuspecting traveller. They each move beyond the languishing tombs of ordinary
folk, far too mindful of the needs of the living to worry much about the forgotten hopes of
the ancient dead.
Return to the obelisks and continue to the city centre via a group of interesting tombs in
beautiful Wadi Farasa. See Click here for details of this highly recommended hike.

Theatre Roman
Originally built by the Nabataeans (not the Romans) more than 2000 years ago, the
weathered Theatre was cut out of rock, slicing through many caves and tombs in the pro-
cess. The seating area had an original capacity of about 3000 in 45 rows of seats, with
three horizontal sections separated by two corridors. The orchestra section was carved
from the rock, but the backdrop to the frons scaenae (stage, which is no longer intact) was
constructed, as opposed to carved, in three storeys with frescoed niches and columns over-
laid by marble. The performers entered through one of three entrances, the outlines of
which are still partially visible.
The Theatre was renovated and enlarged to hold about 8500 (around 30% of the popu-
lation of Petra) by the Romans soon after they arrived in AD 106. To make room for the

AMPHITHEATRE