They stand witness to the greatness of the Nabataean civilization (312 BCE-106 CE).  Just as the Nabataeans’ trading network brokered goods between East and West, its architecture bridged styles, yielding a creative mix of Mesopotamian (Assyrian and Persian) and Greek traditions.

After providing a brief background on the history of Petra, this Approach Guide lays out — on a feature-by-feature basis — the distinguishing characteristics of the blended Nabataean architectural style: first, its Mesopotamian foundations; second, its Hellenistic features; and finally, some unique Nabataean twists.   For each architectural feature, this guide provides a detailed description and a perspective on how it changed over time.  Finally, to make it easier for the reader to visually identify key features, it includes high-resolution images with color highlights.

With the stylistic framework in place, it then offers a walking tour of the top architectural sites in Petra (easily navigated to on the included high-resolution map):

• Treasury (Khasneh);
• Tombs of the Outer Siq: Street of Facades, Tomb 825, and Tomb 86; and
• Tombs of Wadi Farasa: Broken Pediment Tomb, Renaissance Tomb, and Garden Triclinium;
• Royal Tombs: Urn Tomb, Corinthian Tomb, Silk Tomb, Palace Tomb, and Sextius Florentinus Tomb;
• Monastery (Deir).

For each site, this Approach Guide provides information on its history and distinguishing features.  The overall goal of these site profiles is provide the reader with what is most important, a framework for understanding the site and what makes it special.

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