Petra Tour: High Place of Sacrifice
One of the most beautiful tours in Petra leads to the high sanctuary on the Jabal al-Madhbah, passing the so-called obelisks, and down into Wadi Farasa East.
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On the so-called throne of the god (mōtab) there is a recess for the placement of one or more betyls. For this and for the ritual acts at the betyl, the authorized person stood on the upper landing of the stairs.
Evidently, the Nabataeans also had a custom of circumambulating the sacred platform (like the Tawāf around the Kaaba in Mecca), as indicated by the narrow passage behind the block.
There were no sacrifices or burnt offerings on the altar itself. The Arabic term maḏbaḥ, which means "slaughter place" and which has become customary for the mountain, was first applied incorrectly to the altar block by the researcher S. I. Curtiss in 1900. According to Dalman, until then the local Arabs had not attached any religious significance to the site and simply called it "pond". (Dalman, p. 168) The animals whose blood was sacrificed were probably slaughtered a little below the place of worship on the western path, where the food for the ritual meal was also prepared. The Nabataeans did not practice burnt offerings, but incense offerings were very common.
© Photos, text: Haupt & Binder
One of the most beautiful tours in Petra leads to the high sanctuary on the Jabal al-Madhbah, passing the so-called obelisks, and down into Wadi Farasa East.