El-Deir

El-Deir , the Monastery - so-called because it appears to have been used as such during the Byzantine Christian period - resembles the Khazneh, but is larger, cruder and more eroded. The great doorway is around eight metres tall, and the facade as a whole is approximately fifty metres wide by forty-five tall. The whole structure, like the Khazneh, has been carved out of the rock face, and the flanking walls reveal clearly how deep the builders cut into the cliff to create it.

To the left of the monastery, a gap in the rock gives access to the base of a rough staircase that climbs steeply up the rock face. Some minor gymnastics are needed at first, but thereafter the climb becomes easier, and offers a good view of the facade seen at the height of the second level. The rest of Petra lies in the distance, hidden from view behind the bulk of the Monastery and the hills beyond.

The path emerges onto the top of the Monastery itself, just behind the left-hand element of the triclinium. This affords not only a unique view of the urn that crowns the central part of the facade, but also of the surrounding area. Looking down from the circular rim at the base of the urn it is possible to make out the outline of the Monastery's forecourt.

From El-Deir, the only place you can really go is back down the path you came by, and back to the historical city centre.