Beida (Little Petra)
The Agricultural Village
Close to Petra, after a 10 minute drive you find Al Beidha better known as Little Petra. You enter the site through a narrow gorge called Siq Al-Barid, the "cold Siq".
The name refers to the circumstance that the high walls prevent sunlight from entering the canyon and warming it. The Siq is 350 meters long with three wider areas inside.
The name refers to the circumstance that the high walls prevent sunlight from entering the canyon and warming it. The Siq is 350 meters long with three wider areas inside.
It is believed that Little Petra was an important suburb of Petra, the entry and exit point for the trade routes to the north and north-west. Here the caravans from the Negev, Gaza, Jerusalem, Egypt and the Mediterranean coast arrived, had a rest and engaged in trade. Like in Petra buildings had been carved into the sandstone, used as residences, storages and tombs along with water channels and cisterns. In one of the buildings you can find the remains of painted frescoes with birds, grapes and flowers, dating from the 1st century AD.
.png)
.png)
.png)
