The first monuments on the road to Petra are three enormous rectangular blocks situated on the right side of the wadi known as Djinn Blocks. The word 'djin' is an Arabic word, meaning ghosts or spirits. Many believed they were cisterns until they were finally identified as tombs. This type of monument is found elsewhere in Petra. Altogether, there are about 25 similar blocks.

      On the left side down the road are "The Tomb of the Obelisks and The Tomb of the Triclinium". The Tomb of the Obelisks consists of a chamber and 4 towering structures. Directly beneath it lies The Tomb of the Triclinium, yet the two are not related. The facade dates from the second half of the first century A.D. and represents almost all decorative elements found in the monuments of Petra.

      A few hundred meters further ahead the road leads into The Siq, a natural gorge of spectacular geological formation. It is 1200 meters long and 3 - 16 meters wide, which the Nabataeans widened in parts by carving out the rock. The steep cliff faces on either side often reach a towering height of 200 meters. Paved in the 1st century B.C. the Siq served as the Nabataeans' religious processional passageway into Petra. Excavations have uncovered sculptures dedicated to Nabataean Gods, in particular, Al'Uzza, the Goddess of Fertility. The Nabataeans, and later the Romans sustained their sophisticated civilizations through skillful water management, which included water channels on either side of the Siq with basins.

      Towards the end of the Siq, as the road with its overpowering walls seems to get narrower, we catch our first glimpse of Petra's most famous monument, Al-Khasneh, meaning The Treasury. It is the most well preserved monument of Petra. Its name derives from the presence of an urn at the top of the monument, which the inhabitants of the area during the 19th century claimed had contained the treasure of the Pharaoh at the time of the Exodus. Al-Khazneh is believed to have been the tomb of King Hareth IV (84-85 B.C.).

      Not far from Al-Khazneh, the Theatre comes into view. It was built by the Nabataeans in the 1st. century A.D. and was subsequently enlarged by the Romans when the Kingdom was annexed in 106 A.D. It represents the only example of a theater carved inside the mountain rock face in the area. It is big enough to seat up to 8000 spectators in 33 concentric semicircles. Several adjacent homes and tombs were destroyed to make way for the its expansion.

      The High Place of Sacrifice rests on top of an elevated mountain called the "Attouf Ridge", and can be reached after strenuous walk up paths and staircases, which were once part of the sacred Nabataean Road. The platform is distinctly divided into two parts: in the first one facing South, we see two high Obelisks of rock piercing the sky and dominating the terrace. They were modeled by leveling the surrounding rock, and they represent the two most important Nabataean deities, "Dushara" and "Al'Uzza". The part facing the North contains the ruins of a fort that was built in order to control the approaches to the area. The place of sacrifice was never intended to contain large crowds, while the alter itself, where the priest cut the throats of sacrificial beasts is approached by three steps.

     In the Eastern side of the city, the visitor finds some of the most spectacular monuments in Petra, the so-called "Royal Tombs". They are carved into the face of “jabal Khubtha", the first of which is The Urn Tomb, one of the grandest and most sophisticated among those present in Petra. It was presumably cut out of the rock around 70 A.D., and is surrounded on both sides by a deep colonnade that overlooks a wide courtyard. The monument was used by the Nabataeans for funeral banquets. In the Byzantine period, the The Urn Tomb with its large interior hall was turned into a Christian Church. The Corinthian Tomb, not very far from the Urn Tomb, is similar in design to The Treasury’s structure, and is devoted to king “Malkus II”. The lower section consists of seven parts divided by eight semi-columns. The decoration of the Façade combines elements of both Nabataean and Roman art. Another splendid tomb, not only for its architectural style, which in reality is now weathered beyond recognition, but for its incredible coloring on the rock carved façade, is The Silk Tomb. It is also known as the Rainbow Tomb, due to the effect and variation of the different colored horizontal rock bands of the façade. The Palace Tomb is another interesting example of the craftsmanship of rock carved buildings. It is composed of three levels, but while the lower one was cut out of the rock, the others above were particularly erected with blocks of rock, in order to compensate for the insufficient height of the original rock face in relation to the impressive architectural plan.

     The Colonnaded Street lies in the central part of the city and still retains part of its attractive columns and paved road. On both sides of the street we find important monuments which have been partially demolished during the first millennium, and in 551 A.D. in particular, by powerful earthquakes. The paved road dates from the Roman period, since there are no signs of any form of paving earlier than this. The old paved street, with its dazzling white limestone blocks, ends up with the Greek-Roman ruins of the majestic Monumental Gate.

     At the end of the paved colonnaded street are the remains of a monumental gateway now partly restored, decorated with some very delicate carving of a typical Nabataean type of work. Sockets in the paving stones within the gate show that it originally had wooden doors. The sculptures include decorated capitals, detached heads, eagles, faces and Nabataean deities. It is surely an interesting example of how two different cultures; the Roman and the Nabataean complemented each other.

     Recent studies suggest that the Monumental Gate was originally built to be the main entrance to Qasr El-Bint Temple (Castle of the Pharaoh's Daughter). It is one of the rare examples in Petra of a building which has not been carved from the rock, but instead erected from blocks of stones. It was built in the period between 30 and 40 B.C., and measured 23 meters in height. Up until the discovery of the other "Big Temple", it was considered to have been the main Nabataean place of worship. The interior of the building consists of three parts, of which the central chamber was considered to be sacred and presumably contained the statue of a god.

     The Great Temple Complex represents one of the major archaeological and architectural components of central Petra. Since 1993, archaeologists from Brown University have been excavating this temple precinct, which measures an estimated 7000 sq. meters. It is comprised, North to South, of a monumental entryway, a Lower Temenos (sacred area); twin semi-circular structures flanked by broad stairways, and an Upper Temenos, which is the sacred enclosure for the Temple itself. The Temple is typical of Nabataean architecture as is located to the west of Qasr El-Bint. The style and quality of The Temple suggest that the sanctuary was constructed by the end of the first century B.C. by the Nabataeans, who combined their native traditions with the classical spirit. The Great Temple was in use until some point in the late Byzantine period.

     The Petra Byzantine Church was built over Nabataean and Roman remains in 450-500 A.D. Originally, it had one hall and an entrance porch. The Mosaics from the Southern aisle date from this period. In 500-550 A.D. the church was remodeled. Paved marbles, geometric stone designs, a pulpit and more mosaics were installed, and, as in most buildings of the Byzantine period, considerable use was made of material taken from much older constructions. However, the church got burned around 600 A.D. and was later destroyed by earthquakes. This Byzantine Shrine was excavated and restored by the American Center of Oriental Research during the period from 1992 until 1998.

     The route up towards The Monastery is strenuous, but well worth the challenge. In any case, there are several chances to rest along the way to view the beautiful landscape and to admire the various tombs also present in this area. Approaching the summit where the Monastery stands the panorama becomes increasingly breathtaking. As the path reaches its narrowest point, it finally opens into a vast platform with the imposing facade of The Monastery protruding on the right hand side. The Monastery, known locally as Al-Deir, is the largest monument in Petra. After The Treasury, this is best preserved structure in the ancient city. Some scholars describe it as the tomb of Rabbel II. It was also considered as a holy pilgrimage site. If one considers the dimensions of this building, its width reaching about 50 meters, its height measures 45 meters and the entrance alone being 8 meters high, there is no doubt that a structure of this size had great importance for the Nabataeans as a place of veneration and pilgrimage. The facade is on two levels and adopts the same architectural and decorative form as The Treasury.