The Monastery (al-Deir), 1st Century A.D., carved stone, 45 x 50

Whole artwork view. Monumental building erected on the highest point of the ancient city of Petra; it has been carved out from sandstone and it is reachable by a steep stairway; from the architectural point of view it is an example of the nabatean classical style; probably, it is a religious monument, maybe a royal tomb, dedicated to a personality who has been later deified; it has been named after the interior's sculpted rocks wich makes us suppose that it had possibly been used as a church, maybe from the Bizantine. Petra's Monastery, Petra, Jordan.