European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 01, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Continued from Page 6 r stretches out to your right. You soon come upon he Street of facades so named because on the left Are four Levels of 44 carved facades that resemble houses. Below these is the grand roman Amphitheater carved directly out of the Rock and capable of holding More than 3,000 people. The orchestra area itself takes up some 125 feet. Farther on and to the right the Valley widens and you begin to see the scope and size of Petra. Carved facades Are everywhere and their vast size reinforces the notion that Petra was carved by a race of giants. The Royal tombs measure More than 150 feet across. The urn Tomb s courtyard alone is More than 70 feet across. The Palace Tomb and the corinthian Tomb farther on Are also amazing works of Art. From Here the colonnade Street with More than a dozen columns still standing stretches before you. This Street was used by traders making their Way through Petra and its marketplaces and on to the government houses where taxes were levied. The arched Gate is nearby. Just beyond this by a narrow Footpath is a late 20th-Century addition to Petra a restaurant and museum. From Here it s another 45-minute walk to arrive at the monastery. This building looks similar to the Treasury but is larger154 feet High by 132 feet wide. The urn on top is More than 30 feet High. A pathway leads from the door to the urn and from Here you have a wonderful View stretching into the Sinai to the West and Petra to the East. A White Temple on a Mountaintop to the South is Aaron s Tomb erected in the 13th Century and said to have been built Over the site where Moses brother Aaron i buried. " yet another Monument providing a View from on High is the High place of sacrifice some 630  the theater and the colonnade Street. Almost All of Petra can be seen from Here. There Are two pathways stairways that were also Cut neatly out of the Rock to this Point where a Goat or Lamb would be sacrificed at the altar. You la corn6 across More tombs and temples on your Way Down from this High Point including the Garden Temple the 15-foot-Long lion Monument formerly a Fountain with water pouring out of the lion s Mouth and the roman Soldier Tomb. " today the interiors of these buildings Are nothing compared with their former grandeur bedouins have for decades used them arid their cooking fires have blackened the interiors. It is thought that during Petra s height the interiors were whitewashed and highly decorated with Flowers animals and humans painted on the Walls and ceiling. The floors Are thought to have patterns As Well just this summer archaeologists discovered an intricate mosaic floor in a newly discovered building. Indeed new fir ids Are being discovered every season. The Sand which has rubbed smooth some buildings has also blown in and protected others. The inhabitants of Petra did not want for water even though this part of Jordan was even then desert. Large cisterns Are found throughout Petra and water channels Are located along the Walls of the six As Well. Every available collection Point of falling water was used by the citizenry and the water Funne Leaf into these cisterns. Several natural Springs Are also found in Petra. A major source of water was and continues to be Moses Fountain several Miles away in wad Fumusa the traditional spot where it is thought that Moses struck the Rock and out came flowing water. The roman theater could hold More than 3,000 people inits_33 rows of seats. Photos by James Hudson Moore or. 8 stripes Magazine september 1, 1994