Past: Al Dier Treasury, Petra, Jordan (est. 1st century)
In 1845, poet John Burgon described Petra as the “rose-red city half as old as time.” This 1st century merchant city, once the capital of the Nabataean Empire, boasts a number of rock-cut buildings with facades that resemble Greek and Roman temples. After the decline of Petra as a trade center and capital around 106 CE, the city sat abandoned for centuries, fading from memory. It was brought back into the limelight in the early 1800s, when a European traveler disguised in Bedouin garb, explored Petra. The Al Dier site is one of Petra’s most well-known architectural wonders, cut deep onto the rock and fronted by a classical Hellenistic and Mesopotamian design carved out of the sandstone cliffside. Historians speculate about its use; it may have been a mausoleum or a monastery. While much of its architectural details have added over time, its façade remains well preserved.
