The Path to El-Deir

The path that leads towards El-Deir crosses open ground to the north of the city centre and starts to ascend into the massif. The path climbs smoothly, sometimes flanked on one side or the other by sandstone outcrops. After a while, some Nabataean stairs can be seen, carved into the rock face of a spur that rises to the right of the path, while a little further on, on the left-hand side, a narrow gully gives access to a small tomb called The Lion Tomb.

The path continues to climb, turning back and forth between rock spurs that are the home of lizards of all sizes and colors . At the steeper points, stone steps reveal the path's Nabataean origins.

The final section of the path climbs more steeply, passes through a narrow cleft between sheer walls of yellow sandstone, and emerges into an open area of white sand. On one side is cluster of eroded sandstone outcrops, some of which have been hollowed out by the combined effects of erosion and human activity. Facing them is a rock wall from which has been carved out another massive triclinium, similar to the Khazneh but larger and cruder. This is known as El-Deir or the Monastery.