![Petra First Glimpse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Petra_First_Glimpse.jpg)
The Siq ( ar, السيق,
transliterated
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...
''al-Sīq'', transcribed ''as-Sīq'', literally 'the Shaft') is the main entrance to the ancient
Nabatean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...
city of
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
in southern
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. Also known as Siqit, it is a dim, narrow gorge (in some points no more than wide) and winds its way approximately and ends at Petra's most elaborate ruin,
Al Khazneh
Al-Khazneh ( ar, الخزنة; "The Treasury") is one of the most elaborate temples in Petra, a city of the Nabatean Kingdom inhabited by the Arabs in ancient times. As with most of the other buildings in this ancient town, including the Monaste ...
(the Treasury). A wide valley outside leading to the Siq is known as the ''Bab as-Sīq'' (Gateway to the Siq).
Description
![Arch crossing a ravine near El Sik](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Arch_crossing_a_ravine_near_El_Sik._Coloured_lithograph_by_L_Wellcome_V0049428.jpg)
Unlike
slot canyon
A slot canyon is a long, narrow channel or drainageway with sheer rock walls that are typically eroded into either sandstone or other sedimentary rock. A slot canyon has depth-to-width ratios that typically exceed 10:1 over most of its length and ...
s such as
Antelope Canyon
Navajo Upper Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon in the American Southwest, on Navajo land east of Lechee, Arizona. It includes five separate, scenic slot canyon sections on the Navajo Reservation, referred to as Upper Antelope Canyon (or The Crac ...
in the American Southwest, which are directly
shaped by water, the Siq is a natural
geological fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
split apart by
tectonic forces; only later was it worn smooth by water. The walls that enclose the Siq stand between in height.
The entrance to the Siq contains a huge dam, reconstructed in 1963 and again in 1991, designed to bar the mouth of the Siq and reroute the waters of
Wadi Musa
Wadi Musa ( ar, وادي موسى, literally "Valley of Musa (AS)) is a town located in the Ma'an Governorate in southern Jordan. It is the administrative center of the Petra Department and the nearest town to the archaeological site of Petra. I ...
. The dam is a fairly true reconstruction of what the Nabataeans did to control Wadi Musa between the 1st century BC and the beginning of the 1st century AD. The entrance also contains the remnants of a monumental arch, of which only the two abutments and some hewn stones of the arch itself have survived. The arch collapsed in 1896 following an earthquake, but its appearance is known from the lithographs of Matthew Boulby and
David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to:
Arts and literature
* David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter
* David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector
* David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...
.
The Siq was used as the grand caravan entrance into Petra. Along both walls of the fissure are a number of votive niches containing ''
baetyli'', which suggest that the Siq was sacred to the Nabatean people. In 1998, a group of statues were uncovered when digging was conducted to lower the road by more than six feet. Although the upper part is greatly eroded, it is still possible to recognise the figures of two merchants, each leading two camels. The figures are almost twice lifesize.
Along the Siq are some underground chambers, the function of which has not yet been clarified. The possibility that they were tombs has been excluded, and archaeologists find it difficult to believe that they were dwellings. The majority consensus is that they housed the guards that defended the main entrance to Petra.
3D documentation
The
Zamani Project
The Zamani Project is part of the African Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes Database. Zamani is a research group at the University of Cape Town, which acquires, models, presents and manages spatial and other data from cultural heritage sites. ...
spatially documented the Siq and most parts of Petra Archaeological Park in 2011–2014, as part of the UNESCO Siq Stability Project. The non-profit organisation specialises in 3D
digital documentation of tangible cultural heritage, and seeks to increase awareness and knowledge of heritage in Africa and beyond. The data generated by Zamani are used for research, education, restoration, conservation and as a record for future generations.
See also
*
Tourism in Jordan
Jordan is a sovereign Arab state in the Middle East. The capital, Amman, is Jordan's most populous city as well as the country's economic, political and cultural centre.
Major tourist attractions in Jordan include UNESCO World Heritage Sites such ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{coord, 30, 19, 20, N, 35, 27, 6, E, display=title
Canyons and gorges of Asia
Landforms of Jordan
Petra
Tourism in Jordan