Siq
The Siq ( Arabic السيق, DMG as-Sīq 'the shaft') is a 70 m deep canyon with a length of 1.5 km in Jordan and at the same time the entrance to the rock city of Petra . The Siq was dug deep into the rock by the masses of water from Wadi Musa, a temporary mountain stream that swelled after heavy rainfall and shot through the gorge.
particularities
The Nabataeansused the Siq as a well secured access to their city. At the same time, they diverted the bed of Wadi Musa through an 86-meter-long tunnel into a side valley so that it could no longer spill through the Siq and put people in danger. At the entrance of the Siq they erected a large arch, of which only a few traces remain in the rock face. This gate could have been closed by doors and used as a fortification. The arch was probably built in the first century AD. The Nabataeans also left their mark on the Siq itself. The path was lined with water pipes that carried water in terracotta pipes through the gorge. In addition, the floor was paved according to the Roman model. Small votive niches and steles can be found on both rock faces, which allow conclusions to be drawn about the special religious significance of the Siq for the Nabataeans. In the niches were probably mainlyBetyle - the Nabataeans did not erect statues for their gods, especially in the early days, but represented their gods symbolically - for example in the form of a cuboid or a truncated pyramid. There are many of these so-called betyls in Petra. At the exit of the Inner Siq is the facade of the Khazne al-Firaun . The Siq expands here to the so-called Outer Siq.
Individual evidence
- Fabio Bourbon: Archaeological Guide: Petra - The Mysterious Rock City. Cologne 2004, ISBN 978-3-89893-564-7
Web links
Coordinates: 30 ° 19 ′ 19.6 ″ N , 35 ° 27 ′ 18.6 ″ E