- After Petra, Al Beidha or Little Petra is the next most important
site for the casual visitor in Wadi Musa. This site is only a
few kilometers from Petra and easily accessible by taxi or rented
car. It is literally hidden away in the center of a mountain.
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- Above: The entrance to Al Beidha contains a small
siq (crack in the rock) through which visitors must pass.
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Left: This miniature version
of Petra contains a number of notable tombs. The one on the left
stands near the entrance to Little Petra, and demonstrates how
well preserved some of these monuments are. This tomb had a door,
and internal shelving to hold the dead. |
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Left: Farther inside is a magnificent
monument high on the side of the cliff. |
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Above: A small dining hall or meeting hall
(majlis) nearer the front entrance to Al Beidha. Yes, those are
benches or seats inside.
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Notice the clear cut the tops
of these columns. |
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Left: A street of dining halls.
Most of the facades have been washed away by floods but the halls
still remain. |
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Left: You can even wash your hands in the
basin before and after you eat.
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| The smaller sinks were usually
obtained running water from larger water cisterns located farther
up the mountains, as well as one or two large ones located to
the left of the dining hall. |
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Note that the various dining halls had water
cisterns or sinks on the right side.
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It's very hard to take pictures
of underground water cisterns. This one had broken away at the
top so we could see inside. It is about 12-14 feet deep. We used
a flash, so the rocks at the mouth of the entrance are over exposed. |
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Left:: One of the water cisterns. |
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There are a number of small
beytel around Little Petra. These were ancient representations
of gods. |
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Ancient painted plaster on the ceiling
of one of the caves. (Damaged by Bedouin fires, and 2000 years
of weather)
Click here to see a larger
image)
Special thanks to Kezsmarki Agnes
who sent us this picture. Used with permission.
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Left: Niches for god idols or blocks.
Left: A fountain with water draining down
to a cistern at street level below.
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All through Little Petra there
are stairs leading up to exposure platforms and high places.
In the picture on the right, Matthew started at the bottom left
climbing the stairs. How high can one get? That depends on how
brave you are. |
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At the rear of Little Petra is a set of stairs
leading up to the sky above. If you have time, climb the stairway
at the back of Al Beidha and explore the small boxed canyon in
the rear. It is one of the most hidden and secluded places around
Petra and would have made a great hideaway.
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A dam across part of Hidden
Canyon. At one time there was a large water cistern here. This
would have been a wonderful place to stay hidden for a long time. |
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Left: A cave high on the hill. Amazingly enough,
when we started to climb up to it we discovered ancient stairs.
What else would you expect in Little Petra?
To the south of Al Beidha mountain is a pre-pottery
Neolithic settlement. We will try and post some pictures here
when the weather clears in Jordan.
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