Petra - Jordan - page 347

doors lead into typically simple funerary chambers. The 18 columns on the upper level are
the most distinctive and visually arresting elements of the tomb. Notice the top-left
corner: pragmatically, it is built (rather than cut out) of stone because the rock face didn't
extend far enough to complete the facade.

Sextius Florentinus Tomb
Continue a few hundred metres around the hill to reach the seldom-visited Sextius
Florentinus Tomb, built from AD 126 to 130 for a Roman governor of Arabia, whose ex-
ploits are glorified in an inscription above the entrance. Have a cup of tea with the Be-
douin grandmother who has set up shop here and admire the dazzling veining of the tomb
in peace. The gorgon's head in the centre of the facade above the columns is eroded, but
it's still possible to distinguish the vine tendrils emanating from the head. The horned cap-
itals are a uniquely Nabataean creation. Unlike many other tombs, the interior is worth a
look for the clearly discernible loculi (graves); there are five carved into the back wall and
three on the right as you enter.

Colonnaded Street
Returning to the main thoroughfare downhill from the Theatre, the Colonnaded Street
marks Petra's city centre. The street was built in about AD 106 (contemporaneous with
the Colonnaded Street in Jerash), over an existing Nabataean thoroughfare. It follows the
standard Roman pattern of an east-west decumanus (main street), but without the normal
cardo maximus (north-south axis). Columns of marble-clad sandstone originally lined the
6m-wide carriageway, and covered porticoes gave access to shops.
At the start of the Colonnaded Street is the Nymphaeum Offline map , a public foun-
tain built in the 2nd century AD and fed by water channelled from the Siq. Little can be
seen today, although it's recognisable by the huge 450-year-old pistachio tree , giving
welcome shade in summer.
Also along the Colonnaded Street are the limited remains of the market area and the un-
recognisable ruins of the Royal Palace Offline map .

ANCIENT THOROUGHFARE

The street ends at the Temenos Gateway Offline map . Built in the 2nd century AD,
the gateway originally had huge wooden doors and side towers. It marked the entrance to
the temenos (sacred courtyard) of the Qasr al-Bint, separating the commercial area of the
city from the sacred area of the temple. Look closely for the few remaining floral friezes
and a figure with an arrow, which suggest that this was once a very grand structure. Op-
posite are the minimal ruins of the Nabataean baths Offline map .