We had pretty much done everything we wanted to in Petra so we left the Monastery for the last day. It is the furthest away from the entrance and involved a hike up a mountain of more than 800 rock-cut steps to get to it so many (lazy) people give it a miss.
There were some sights along the way such as the Lion Triclinium, so called because of the large lions (but severely weathered) carved into the rock on either side of the entrance. The entrance consists of an odd keyhole-shaped crack in the rock due to the weathering of the original separate doorway and window.
We came to a resting spot and the dude manning the souvenir shop got quite mad at us for not buying anything and started sprouting about how they are going to survive if we don't spend money.
Spot the donkey in the photo. No not Damon or Victor. bahahahahahaha
I was a bag lady all day. I got so sick of the biscuits I started giving them to the stallkeepers. They must communicate with each other because i would walk past one stall, give them some biscuits and by the time I got to the next stall they knew to ask me for food!
We rounded a corner and all of a sudden, we had arrived at the Monastery. It was virtually deserted due to the effort it takes to get to it as well as the fact that it was just the start of the tourist season.
The Monastery is the largest of all the monuments in Petra. The doorway alone measures 8 m in height. It was probably a temple but there are arguments that it was an unfinished royal tomb. The temple facade has been carved deeply into a shoulder of the mountain to give a large courtyard in front.
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