ITINERARY

• Petra, the Rose-Red City, was the impressive capital of the Nabataean kingdom whose ruins remained hidden to most of the world until the Swiss explorer, JL Burckhardt, disguised as an Arab scholar, infiltrated the city in 1812. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Meet your private guide at the site and hike or ride a horse down to the entrance of the Siq, a long, winding sandstone canyon that leads to the Treasury. The tour continues to the Street of Facades, the Roman Theater and the Royal Tombs.
• A ten-minutes drive north of Petra is Siq Al-Barid, which is also referred to as 'Little Petra' due to similarities with the main site. It is thought to have been an important suburb of Petra and is entered through a narrow opening, similar to Siq but of a much smaller scale. The site includes tombs, temples, water channels and cisterns carved out of the rock as well as the remains of frescoes on plaster. This is one of the most important features of Beida and is where many religious activities were held, including the Feast of Drink, when the king of the Nabataeans hosted celebrations and provided drinks for his guests. There is also a cave with the remains of a fresco painted by the Nabataeans that represented grape vines, which confirmed the view that Beida was the area of wine production. In the Siq Al Barid the Nabataean irrigation system, which distributed water through long channels, reservoirs carved into the rock, and dams, is evidence of the greatness of this system.