28 APRIL: PETRA

It's impossible to see everything in a single day so we headed back the following day. At 55JD for a two-day ticket, it's a real bargain for any tourist. Bearing in mind the low average national wage, we had been surprised at how many Jordanians had been visiting yesterday but there were even more today. The place was teeming! It was only later that Marney explained to us that there was a flat-rate 5JD charge for Jordanian residents, which was waived on Bank Holidays like today.
 The plan was to retrace our steps as far as the Temenos Gate, from where we would veer off to the Royal Tombs. That they are 'tombs' is not in doubt, but 'royal' refers to their grandeur rather than the certainty that they were the resting-places of kings.
  It was to be an easy climb up solid, modern steps.

Tomb of Unayshu: 
We'd seen this one yesterday as we'd walked past but, to be truthful, hadn't really known what it was.

It features a once-porticoed courtyard in the front, with a triclinium to the side.

The Urn Tomb:
Built in 446/7 AD and named after the fairly small and insignificant urn at the top of the pediment, this structure was obviously the tomb of somebody extremely important. Whether or not it was a king, and if so who, is unknown, although Malichus II (d. AD 70) or his predecessor Aretas IV have been suggested.
The tall narrow facade towers above the city , its terrace supported by two rows of vaults which emphasise its height.

Set into the facade high above the forecourt between the engaged columns are spaces for three bodies. The central one, possibly that of the king, is still partially sealed by a stone which formerly depicted the bust of a man wearing a toga.
The door to the main chamber is eroded at the bottom.

Along the side of the front courtyard are a row of columns.

In the mid-fifth century the tomb was converted into a church and the cavernous interior still shows signs of the adjustments that had to be made. Two central recesses of the original four were combined to make a sort of apse, and myriad holes were drilled in the floor to support all the relevant ecclesiastical furniture, eg. chancel screens, a pulpit etc.

The Corinthian Tomb:
This has one of the most sadly-eroded facades in Petra, but its position, on the corner of the cliff and directly in line with the Colonnaded Street, points to the likelihood of its having been the tomb of another Nabatean king.

It was obviously modelled on the style of the Treasury but below the upper level its symmetry is a mess.
Its name comes from Leon de Laborde who, on his visit in 1828, deemed its columns and capitals to be of the Corinthian order.

The Palace Tomb:
Named because of its supposed resemblance to a Roman palace (the Golden Palace of Nero), the design of this tomb was clearly too grandiose to be accommodated by the existing rock face, so part of the upper levels had to be built instead of carved. As much of the superstructure has fallen, it is impossible to know how high it once stood.

Equally unknown is when it was carved, or for whom, but it is believed to have been near the end of the Nabatean period, perhaps in the reign of the last king, Rabbel II (AD 70-106).
In front of the tomb is a large stage and in front of this a large courtyard.

Tomb of Sextius Florentinus:
Sextius Florentinus was a Roman governor of the Province of Arabia who died about 130 AD and chose to be buried in Petra rather than in the provincial capital of Bosra. The Latin inscription above the doorway states that thee monument was built by his son, following the will of his father, thus making it one of the few sights in Petra that can be dated with certainty.