Out and back from entrance it is around 20km. But worth the hike. If you spend here 1 day only this is the path worth checking out.
Ad Deir ("The Monastery"; Arabic: الدير ), also spelled ad-Dayr and el-Deir, is a monumental building carved out of rock in the ancient Jordanian city of Petra.[1] The Deir was probably carved in the mid-first century AD.[2]
Arguably one of the most iconic monuments in the Petra Archaeological Park, the Monastery is located high in the hills northwest of the Petra city center. It is the second most commonly visited monument in Petra, after the Khazneh or "Treasury".[3]
The huge façade, the inner chamber and the other structures next to it or in the wider area around the Deir probably originally served a complex religious purpose, and was possibly repurposed as a church in the Byzantine period.
Ad Deir in location, 2018
Location
The Monastery can be reached by ascending a nearly 800-step path (40-minute walking time) from the Basin. The Wadi Kharrubeh, the Lion's tomb, and small biclinia and grottos can be seen en route to the Monastery.[citation needed] From the Monastery, one can view the valleys of Wadi Araba and the gorges along with the semi-arid territory immediately around Petra.[4]
Exterior design
Scholars believe that the flat area in front of the Monastery was levelled through human action in order to make the area suitable for social gatherings or religious occasions. Near the entrance of the structure are the remains of a wall and a colonnade.[5]
The rock-cut façade of the Monastery, 47 m (154 ft) high and 48 m (157 ft) wide, has a broken pediment, the two sides of which flank a central tholos-shaped element. This element has a conical roof that is topped by an urn.
Architectural style
The monastery is an example of Nabataean architecture. Its blending of architectural styles is a hallmark of the dynamic and hybridised nature of Petra as a whole.
Architecturally, the Monastery follows classical Nabataean style, which is represented by a mixture of Hellenistic and Mesopotamian styles of construction.[citation needed] The Hellenistic influence can be seen in the columns of the Monastery, which are constructed in an abstracted Corinthian style. These columns are thought to have been included for aesthetic purposes, as the entire structure is carved directly into the sandstone cliff and does not require the support that columns would traditionally provide in freestanding Hellenistic structures. The façade as a whole boasts a Doric entablature (superstructure containing moldings and bands lying above the capitals), but does not have figures in the metope, only simple roundels.
Mesopotamian style is evident in the single, large entrance and the plain, window-like depressions of the facade. The door to the main chamber of the monastery is 8 metres high and provides the sole portal for the entry of light into the structure. The presence of square-topped tower structures on either side of the Monastery also demonstrate the Mesopotamian influence present in the...
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