Jordan Guide
Petra and around
The city centre
As you round the corner of the path leading from the theatre, the city centre of Petra, focused along the Cardo Maximus, or Colonnaded Street, stretches out ahead, framed by the barrier range of mountains – and the flat-topped giant Umm al-Biyara – behind. Although there are excavations continuing on the flat, rounded hills to either side, the overall impression is of rocky desolation; however, in Petra's prime, the landscape in all directions was covered with buildings – houses big and small, temples, marketplaces – all of them long since collapsed. Many archeologists theorize that much of Petra is in fact still hidden beneath the dusty soil, and that all the facades and what few buildings have so far been exposed are the tip of the iceberg.
Until you reach the Temenos at the far end of the Colonnaded Street, the only monument actually on the street is the Nymphaeum, although both the northern (right-hand) and southern (left-hand) slopes hold plenty of interest. Petra's main museum, the Basin Museum, lies just beyond the Temenos. Looming over the city centre from the west is a pinnacle of rock known as Al-Habees, separate from the huge mountains behind and featuring, partway up, another small museum and – on the summit – a crumbling Crusader fort and some of the best views in all of Petra.