Petra Tour: Wadi Farasa East
Coming from Jabal al-Madhbah, the tour continues through the idyllic valley. Highlights are the Garden Triclinium, the Soldier Tomb complex, with the large colourful triclinium, and the Renaissance Tomb.
For an optimal view of our website, please rotate your tablet horizontally.
The Soldier Tomb complex was a multifunctional ensemble with the sumptuous tomb (right in the picture) and the large banquet hall (left) as the most important buildings. It could only be seen and reached from the central columned courtyard. A large two-storey building with an entrance hall and several, partly heated rooms (in the foreground on the photo) sealed off the complex and the area of Wadi Farasa East behind it.
The complex was built in the third quarter of the 1st century AD, when Petra experienced an extensive building activity. The smooth wall on the photo shows how much rock had to be removed to make room for the Soldiers' Tomb and the area in front of it. Some of the stones were used by the Nabataean builders for the masonry structures and to level the area. Only for the retaining wall across the valley (in the foreground of the photo), which provided support for the entire complex, blocks of harder limestone were brought in from elsewhere.
After the annexation of the Nabataean Kingdom by the Romans in 106 AD, alterations were made in some places. Even before its destruction by the devastating earthquake of 363 AD, the complex was no longer in use, and the refined installations for water supply and protection against flooding during heavy rainfall, which required permanent maintenance, were left to decay.
Some researchers believe that Wadi Farasa East was a small fortress of the crusaders in the 12th century, but others question this.
(Information i.a. from IWFP; S. G. Schmid, Kreuzritteralltag; M. Sinibaldi
© Summary: Universes in Universe)
© Photos: Haupt & Binder
Coming from Jabal al-Madhbah, the tour continues through the idyllic valley. Highlights are the Garden Triclinium, the Soldier Tomb complex, with the large colourful triclinium, and the Renaissance Tomb.
Kreuzritteralltag in Petra - Das Beispiel des Wadi Farasa
In: Die Kreuzzüge. Petra - Eine Spurensuche, pp. 45 - 59. Publication related to the exhibition of Ritterhausgesellschaft Bubikon, 2006. Idea and concept: Ueli Bellwald. In German, with contributions by Khairieh Amr, Guido Vannini, Stephan G. Schmid, Ueli Bellwald.