Interpretive Plan Outline - Petra National Trust

JORDAN TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT IN THE
PETRA REGION (JTDPR)
INTERPRETIVE PLAN FOR PETRA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK
JUNE 08
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region

Executive Summary
The Interpretive Plan for Petra Archaeological Park (Interpretive Plan) is designed to
support the mission of the Park and its effective management. Implementation of the
Interpretive Plan is one of the most effective tools for shaping visitor behavior. By
providing additional encouragement and assistance for visitors to act
in ways that do not harm the resources and benefit the local
communities, the Interpretive Program benefits park management.
The Interpretive Plan focuses on three main points contact with
visitors: outreach and pre-arrival, orientation and access, and onsite
exploration. A fourth point of contact with visitors, off-site
programming and links, is primarily addressed in Volume II: Off-
Site Interpretive Services. Based on these stages of contact,
numerous actions are recommended.
Outreach and
Pre-Arrival
• Outreach and pre-arrival. Outreach and pre-arrival activities
offer information to visitors or potential visitors to PAP before
they arrive. A website will provide the following: 1)
directions, 2) introduction to interpretive themes, 3) park
highlights, 4) rules, 5) description and price of admission and
services; 6) maps, 7) links to nearby cultural sites, and 8)
downloadable media. Brochures will be given to hotels, tour
operators, etc.
• Orientation and access. This stage orients the visitor to the site
and providing information about how to access facilities and
points of interest within the site. The arrival is that point at
which detailed information to the visitor about Petra begins, and
where basic orientation is repeated. Functions include 1)
ticketing, 2) spatial and temporal orientation via maps and
timeline, 3) park rules for conservation and safety, 4) providing
functioning toilets and information on location of other services;
5) introduction to Petra context and themes, and 6) media to take
along with the above information.
Orientation
and
Access
On-Site
Exploration
• On-site exploration. On-site exploration will help visitors
experience Petra in a responsible and enjoyable way. This
requires informing them of the exploration possibilities of the
site and how to reach those possibilities. The visitor services
Off-Site
on-site are enhanced, but limited to those that provide for a safe Programming
visit and behavior that does not damage resources. They
and Links
provide basic understanding of resources and direct visitors to
interpretation off-site. On-site interpretation includes wayside
exhibits; mobile interpretive devices; Old Museum interprets
Nabataean stone carving; New Museum showcases current archaeology; Nazzals’s
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan
ii

Camp explains conservation. Visitor services are addressed in the document and in
greater detail in Petra Archaeological Museum Interpretive Plan Volume III: Visitor
Services.
The Interpretive Plan also recommends that an environmental assessment (EA) be
conducted to evaluate decisions. An EA informs decision makers of the potential impacts
of a range of alternatives on the cultural and natural resources and on the social and
economic conditions. An EA is an effective tool to assist managers in making their
decision.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan
iii

Glossary
Event: Any activity that involves serving food or beverages; providing a space for
speakers, musicians, or performers; or any ceremony or other sort of collective function
that involves more than three people or the documentation of that function that involves
commercialization, advertising, or publicity; or the set-up of special equipment or
facilities, on the part of participants or organizers.
Special Park Use: A short-term activity that takes place in groups traditionally affiliated
with Park lands or resources that conforms to the following:
§ It provides a benefit to an individual, group, or organization rather than the public at
large;
§ It requires written authorization and some degree of management control from the Park
in order to protect Park resources and the public interest;
§ It is not prohibited by law or regulation;
§ It is neither initiated, sponsored, nor conducted by the Park; and
§ It is not managed under a concession contract or commercial use permit or a historic
lease.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan
iv

INTEPRETIVE PLAN FOR PETRA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK
Table of Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND............................................................1
1.1 Purpose and Need ...................................................................................................2
1.2 Goals ...........................................................................................................................4
1.3 Significance...............................................................................................................5
1.4 Relevant Plans ..........................................................................................................7
1.5 Overall desired visitor experiences ..................................................................12
1.6 Visitor profiles.........................................................................................................17
1.7 Issues affecting interpretation ...........................................................................18
2.0 INTERPRETIVE THEMES ...............................................................................19
2.1 Theme 1: The Landscape of Petra Fostered Human .......................................19
2.1.1: Subthemes...........................................................................................................20
2.2 Theme 2: Hydrology.............................................................................................21
2.2.1 Subthemes............................................................................................................21
2.3 Theme 3: Nabataeans and Trade ..........................................................................21
2.3.1 Subthemes............................................................................................................22
2.4 Theme 4: Petra in Religious Histories and Traditions ................................23
2.4.1 Subthemes.............................................................................................................23
2.5 Theme 5: Bedouin Culture.....................................................................................23
2.5.1 Subthemes.............................................................................................................24
2.6 Theme 6: Evolving Relationship with Rome ...............................................24
2.6.1 Subthemes.............................................................................................................25
2.7 Theme 7: Natural Disasters at Petra .................................................................25
2.7.1 Subthemes.............................................................................................................26
2.8 Theme 8: Conservation at Petra............................................................................26
2.8.1: Subthemes...........................................................................................................27
3.0 FUTURE INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM............................................................27
3.1 Outreach and pre-arrival ......................................................................................27
3.1.1 Desired future .......................................................................................................28
3.1.2 Actions....................................................................................................................28
3.2 Orientation and access ........................................................................................29
3.2.1 Desired future .......................................................................................................29
3.2.2 Actions....................................................................................................................30
3.3 On-site exploration ................................................................................................30
3.3.1 Desired future .......................................................................................................31
3.3.2 Actions....................................................................................................................31
3.4 Off-site programming and links .........................................................................32
3.4.1 Desired future .......................................................................................................32
3.4.2 Actions....................................................................................................................32
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 5

4.0 INTERPRETIVE MEDIA PRESCRIPTIONS ....................................................33
4.1 Staffing requirements and costs .......................................................................33
4.1.1 Existing Conditions.............................................................................................33
4.1.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................33
4.2 Fee interpretation (interpretive experiences for which the visitor
pays extra) ...............................................................................................................35
4.2.1 Existing Conditions.............................................................................................35
4.2.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................36
4.3 Programming...........................................................................................................36
4.3.1 Existing Conditions.............................................................................................37
4.3.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................37
4.4 Publications.............................................................................................................38
4.4.1 Existing Conditions.............................................................................................38
4.4.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................38
4.5 Visitor Center ..........................................................................................................39
4.5.1 Existing conditions..............................................................................................39
4.5.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................40
4.6 Petra Museum exhibits.........................................................................................40
4.6.1 Existing Conditions.............................................................................................40
4.6.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................42
4.7 Wayside exhibits ....................................................................................................43
4.7.1 Existing Conditions.............................................................................................43
4.7.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................43
4.8 Trails beyond the Sanctuary...............................................................................45
4.8.1 Existing Conditions.............................................................................................46
4.8.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................46
4.9 Web site design, development, and maintenance ........................................47
4.9.1 Existing Conditions.............................................................................................48
4.9.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................48
4.10 Audio-visual media................................................................................................50
4.10.1 Existing conditions........................................................................................50
4.10.2 Recommendations.........................................................................................50
4.11 Educational programs ..........................................................................................51
4.11.1 Existing conditions........................................................................................51
4.11.2 Recommendations.........................................................................................52
5.0 VISITOR SERVICES........................................................................................53
5.1 Visitor Flow Based on 1996 Carrying Capacity .............................................53
5.1.1 Existing conditions..............................................................................................53
5.1.2 Recommendations.................................................................................................55
5.2 Location of Visitor Services................................................................................57
5.2.1 Existing conditions..............................................................................................57
5.2.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................57
5.3 Visitor Services Maintenance .............................................................................59
5.3.1 Existing conditions..............................................................................................59
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 6

5.3.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................59
5.4 Trails..........................................................................................................................61
5.4.1 Existing conditions..............................................................................................61
5.4.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................61
5.5 Conservation...........................................................................................................62
5.5.1 Existing conditions..............................................................................................62
5.5.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................63
5.6 Temporary Visitor Center.....................................................................................64
5.6.1 Existing conditions..............................................................................................64
5.6.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................65
5.7 Special Park Use Permits ....................................................................................65
5.7.1 Existing conditions..............................................................................................66
5.7.2 Recommendations...............................................................................................67
5.8 Allocation of Responsibilities.............................................................................67
6.0 PARTNERSHIPS .............................................................................................68
6.1 Commercial..............................................................................................................68
6.1.1 Tour Guides...........................................................................................................68
6.1.2 Possible future commercial partners .............................................................69
6.2 Government agencies...........................................................................................69
6.3 Non-profit organizations ......................................................................................70
7.0 MAINTENANCE OF INTERPRETIVE DEVICES AND
INFRASTRUCTURE........................................................................................70
8.0 IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE ....................................................................72
9.0 MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM ............74
APPENDIX A..............................................................................................................90
APPENDIX B.................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
APPENDIX C.................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
APPENDIX D.................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 7

Interpretive Plan for Petra Archaeological Park
1.0 Introduction and Background
Petra, Jordan's most important archaeological site, has been inhabited since prehistoric
times, but is most renowned as a Nabataean caravan city that was for several hundred
years the most important location in a trading network that covered Arabia and Syria. By
dominating the transportation of spices and incense to ports on the Mediterranean and via
land routes to Asia Minor, it became, 2,000 years ago, one of the richest cities in the
world. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock and is surrounded by earthquake-riven
mountains full of striking narrow canyons and splendidly colored sandstone formations.
Within the boundaries of Petra Archaeological Park are remarkably preserved ancient
structures and monuments of enormous aesthetic and historical value, as well as
subterranean archaeological sites that contain invaluable information about the ancient
world.
The famed rock-cut tombs in Petra Archaeological Park exquisitely blend ancient Eastern
and Hellenistic architecture. In recognition of this, Petra was listed as a World Heritage
Site in 1985. In 1993, Jordan set aside, as an archaeological protectorate, 264 square
kilometers containing the ancient city of Petra and its monuments (see Map 1). The Petra
Archaeological Park (PAP) was established in 2001. It not only contains archaeological
sites, but it is also a rich natural terrain that itself has played a strong role in the selection
of the area by humans for many different types of habitation, as well as beautiful flora
and fauna, some of which are found almost nowhere but the Park.
In 2006, Petra generated 82% of all site income earned by the Kingdom. Traditionally,
the months of March to May represent Petra’s peak season, yielding 40% of annual
revenue, although the seasonality of visitation is starting to change. The most recent
figures available indicate that tourist traffic to Petra during the first four months of 2008
increased nearly 50 percent over the same period in 2007.
On July 7, 2007, Petra widened its already considerable renown by becoming one of the
New Seven Wonders of the World, based upon a worldwide vote of people from all
walks of life. This recognition generated the influx of tourists mentioned above, which,
coupled with the absence of effective planning and management, necessitates immediate
action to protect Petra's cultural and natural heritage and upgrade tourism services to
meet high visitor expectations. The urgent challenge is an all-out effort to protect,
upgrade, and promote Petra effectively while constructively engaging local communities
to develop the local economy. In August 2007, PAP was given administrative and
financial autonomy with the passage of the PAP Council bylaw delegating park
management to the PAP Council, which needs immediate institutional development to
become operational.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 1

1.1 Purpose and Need
Due to its extraordinary resources, importance in history, and striking natural setting, the
Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) has become an extremely popular tourist attraction.
Unfortunately, the numerous visitors are inadvertently damaging the resources of the
park. As an example, simply touching carvings on tombs and canyon walls, as is done at
present by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, is leading to their gradual
destruction. Visitors sometimes ignore signs prohibiting entry to certain areas, such as
the Roman Theater, where longitudinal monitoring studies have established the loss of
most of the maker’s marks on masonry in just one decade because of visitor use. People
sometimes take away with them archaeological items and antiquities simply because they
have not been made aware that this may provide a motivation for others to loot
archaeological sites, and will result in the consequent destruction of context upon which
much of our knowledge of the ancient world depends.
Additionally, visitors have been injured, or even killed, because they had not been given
information necessary to enjoy the park safely. They also experience unnecessary
discomfort because they are unaware of the locations of facilities necessary to basic
human needs. Therefore, they cannot plan their journey through the site with the
knowledge of where shade, refreshments, and restrooms are located. Further, visitors are
not always aware of the physical demands of the site, situated as it is in a region having
very rough terrain and a climate that can be extremely hot, cold, or windy, and at
sometimes of the year producing flash floods. They also often do not know that they will
have to walk many miles to see even the highlights of Petra. Information guiding visitors
is not readily available. In some cases, although rules have been posted, guides allow or
even encourage visitors to ignore them.
At minimum, an interpretive program must provide the following:
Information Required Prior to Arrival
• Why should I go?
• What can I see, learn, or do there (and nearby)?
• What facilities are there (lodging, camping, eating, provisions, rest room, shopping,
etc.)?
• How do I get there?
Information Required Upon Arrival
• Where are the restrooms? 1
1 This is the question most frequently asked at parks all over the world.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 2

• What makes this place special?
• What can I see, learn, and do?
• What facilities are there (lodging, camping, eating, provisions, rest room, shopping,
etc.)?
• How do I get to the attractions and the facilities?
• How do I arrange to see, learn, and do the things that interest me?
Further, there has been no formal plan for the placement of visitor facilities such as rest
rooms, access to food and drink, ticketing areas, rest and shade areas, signage, and
wayside exhibits. Consequently, visitors tend to rush through the site and are often
uncomfortable. Many resort to utilizing tombs as rest rooms. This presents a health
hazard, is destructive to the cultural resources, and does not reflect well on the
management capability of the
Park or the concern of the
government about the
resources of the Park.
Visitors are often frustrated
even as they enter the Park,
in that ticketing can be
chaotic and little effort is
made to provide them with
information about what they
have purchased with their
ticket. Inside the Park,
visitors are confronted with
vendors insistently marketing
all manner of services and
items. These include donkey
rides up the stone steps to
Ad-Dayr and the High Place
of Sacrifice, which are being
destroyed in some areas by
Figure 1.1: Toilet vault overflow at PAP
this activity, and vending of
antiquities.
To these urgent conservation, safety, visitor comfort, and site presentation problems a
well-structured and managed interpretive program can provide effective solutions.
Furthermore, great opportunities to provide economic stimulation and community
development are being overlooked. It is well established that interpretation can be
structured in a way that provides economic benefit to nearby communities. Enhancing
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 3

economic benefit to local communities near Petra would also greatly improve the
experience provided to visitors by introducing them to living cultures and the stories and
traditions associated with the site that these communities are often eager to share. A wellplanned
and executed interpretive program can serve to examine and alleviate
perceptions among various local communities that other groups are benefiting from
tourism more than they. That is, interpretation can be a means by which to distribute the
economic and social benefits of tourism more equitably.
The overall purpose of the Petra Archaeological Park Interpretive Plan (Interpretive Plan)
is to support the objectives of the Petra Archaeological Park Operating Plan (Operating
Plan). These objectives are focused on precisely the issues described above. An
interpretive program is central to accomplishing these objectives. The Interpretive Plan,
as a companion and follow-up piece to the Operating Plan, outlines additional activities
and steps to support the management objectives.
The Interpretive Plan provides methods and guidelines for content to provide visitors the
information that they will need in order to experience PAP in a safe, enjoyable,
educational, and sustainable way. This plan will provide guidance about the types of
programs, content, exhibits, and materials that are necessary to provide a world-class
visitor experience at such an important archaeological and natural site. The Interpretive
Plan also suggests the use of environmental assessments to assist decision makers in
making informed determinations.
The Interpretive Plan is essentially broken into three separate but overlapping volumes.
Volume I, this document, provides the overall tone and direction of Petra’s interpretive
program. Volume II: Off-Site Programming provides specific directives for interpretation
taking place beyond the park boundaries. Finally, Volume III: Visitor Services addresses
the specific challenges and recommendations for services needed by the visitor within the
park.
1.2 Goals
A goal can be defined as a statement of a desirable future condition. It is the end state
toward which actions are aimed. The following are the goals of the PAP Interpretive
Plan:
• To support the overall management plan for the site and its management
objectives. Effective management of PAP is essential to preserving Petra and
providing economic and social benefit to surrounding communities and Jordan as
a whole. This Interpretive Plan describes the means, from interpretive themes to
visitor services that will make it possible to achieve these objectives.
• To increase public understanding and enjoyment of the site. The more people
understand and enjoy their visit to the site, the greater the possibility that they will
become engaged in promoting its preservation, both locally and worldwide.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 4

Increased awareness can be accomplished through both on-site interpretation and
off-site education, including online studies.
• To attract more mature, affluent, and culturally aware travelers. Studies
have shown that visitors who prefer visits to archaeological and historic sites over
other travel and recreational opportunities most closely resemble, in demographic
terms, those that visit museums and, among museums, art museums. They tend to
be wealthier, with more disposable income, better educated, more inclined to
purchase gifts for relatives and friends, more interested in authentic handicrafts
than souvenirs, and to be more conscious of their responsibility not to damage
resources or act in ways offensive to local communities than any other category of
traveler. Attracting such visitors by providing them with experiences that they
consider authentic and in-depth interpretation will support the preservation and
economic development goals of the Petra Archaeological Park Operating Plan and
the Petra Archaeological Park Management Analysis.
• To inform visitors of the relationships among Petra and other archaeological,
historical, and cultural sites in Jordan. Most visitors leave Petra impressed
with the magnificent natural setting and architecture of the rock-cut tombs, but
with only the barest understanding of the historical significance of the Nabataean
occupation, much less the importance of the other episodes of human history that
have taken place within the boundaries of the World Heritage Site.
• To increase visitor dwell time at the site, nearby communities, and in Jordan.
Currently, visitors are almost never are made aware of additional Nabataean sites
that they might visit, or other related objectives to encourage repeat visitation.
The more time visitors spend at Petra, the more money will enter into the local
community. Providing additional interpretive opportunities and activities will
encourage repeat visitation and extended stays.
• To use the site to help underpin the economy in the immediately adjacent
localities that depend on tourism by increasing visitor dwell time. As much as
possible of the interpretive program and activity should take place outside of park
boundaries in and the local communities as possible. This will encourage visitors
to use the services in those communities, thereby promoting economic activity.
1.3 Significance
Site Significance
The city of Petra contains remarkably preserved ancient structures and monuments of
enormous aesthetic and historical value, as well as subterranean archaeological sites that
contain invaluable information about the ancient world. Petra as we see it today is a
largely a creation of the Nabataeans, Arab nomadic pastoralists who developed interests
in the desert caravan trade hundreds of years before constructing the city. From southern
Arabia they moved into the canyon system where they would begin to build Petra in
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 5

about the fourth century B.C. Perhaps two centuries earlier, the Edomites migrated to
southern Palestine following the destruction of Jerusalem (ca. 586 B.C.) and the
depopulation of Judea at the hands of the Babylonians. Operating not only from Petra in
the region that in the Bible is called Edom, but throughout biblical Moab and other
regions from southern Syria to the western Sinai as well, the Nabataeans after the fourth
century B.C. controlled the spice and incense trade from Arabia to Mesopotamia and the
Mediterranean.
Petra flowered in the first centuries B.C. and A.D. This was made possible in an
extremely arid environment by the engineering of a sophisticated hydrological system.
The system brought water in rock-cut channels and clay pipes from a spring at presentday
Wadi Musa and possibly others, outside the sandstone canyons in which the city was
set. The system also harvested the meager yearly rainfall, and mitigated the effects of the
rare downpours that would otherwise have produced destructive flash floods.
Rome annexed Petra in 106 C.E., motivated by the desire to ensure access to trading
routes that linked the Empire to the Near East, India, and Asia. A growing reliance on
sea rather than land routes as well as the ascendancy of Palmyra eventually caused
commerce through Petra to decline. Many buildings were never rebuilt after a severe
earthquake in 363 C.E., although Petra was not long after then designated the seat of a
Byzantine bishopric. Recent archaeological excavations at Petra have indicated a
substantial complex of structures associated with this last function, but by the middle of
the seventh century C.E. Petra appears to have been largely deserted. In the twelfth
century, Crusader forts were built and then soon abandoned. Petra was lost to the
Western world until its "rediscovery" during the early nineteenth century, an event not
unrelated to
European
colonialism, and
perhaps a desire to
capture in print the
last bits of the world
that remained
unknown to and
uncolonized by
Europeans.
In continually
seeking to improve
their position in a
trading network that
included Greece,
Persia, Rome, India,
and Arabia, and that
stretched ultimately
to China, the
Nabataeans
Figure 1.3: Photo of Royal Tombs
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 6

provided a conduit for goods and ideas among these groups. The architecture of Petra
that survives today testifies to the exchange of cultural traits that occurred on a global
scale even in ancient times. Tombs and buildings display Assyrian, Babylonian,
Egyptian, Greek Hellenistic, and Roman characteristics incorporated into a Nabataean
style that, especially in its earlier expressions, owe much to the architectural tradition of
the East.
The universal significance of Petra is in how well its striking architectural and
archaeological remains convey the geographically and culturally diverse roots of the
classical world, the influence of which now permeates Western, and indeed global,
culture. It is also perhaps the premier example of how architecture can be melded with
the natural environment in a way that is aesthetically and functionally harmonious.
While the archaeological remains most evident at Petra are essentially Nabataean, there
are numerous other archaeological sites of the highest scientific and historical
importance. Beidha, an archaeological site excavated in the 1950s and still open to public
view, is located just outside Petra proper, and is an example of one of the earliest settled
communities. It is a Neolithic, pre-pottery settlement from circa 6,500 B.C. displaying
masonry construction, a squared plan, spatial complexity, and evident areas of
specialization remarkable at this early date. The similarly excavated village at Umm al-
Biyara was inhabited by the Edomites during the Iron Age, circa the seventh century B.C.
by the Edomites, a group that figures importantly in Christian, Islamic, and Jewish
traditional histories. A visit to the High Place of Sacrifice, which may date to a time
before the occupation of the area by the Nabataeans but was used by them, provides an
experience that resonates with accounts of rituals as they appear in these histories, and is
one of the best preserved of all such ritual complexes.
Statement of Significance
The Statement of Significance, taken from the Operating Plan, summarizes the
importance of the site and its unique qualities: Petra is an outstanding example of a
cultural landscape in which can be traced human settlement and land use for
approximately 13,000 years and in which features of great cultural, natural, and
geologic interest are combined in a scene of high aesthetic merit.
1.4 Relevant Plans
The following discussion highlights the plans relevant to these interpretive efforts.
Petra Archaeological Park Operating Plan
The purpose of the Operating Plan, which was adopted in 2001, is to provide
development and management practices necessary to protect the site from damage
resulting from visitation and to enhance the site revenues that will contribute to the
economic and social viability of the region. The Operating Plan provides an
organizational framework; management objectives, policies, and regulations that serve as
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 7

a basis for park programs; and a sequence of steps to put in place the appropriate
management structure.
As stated in the Operating Plan, “Site values are those that must be preserved in order to
retain the essential character of the site. These values are what should be most closely
monitored by site management. The interpretive program, in its turn, should be designed
to educate the public about these values and so to enlist the support of the visitor in the
preservation effort.” The Operating Plan identifies the following as values that can be
seen at Petra:
• Identity values, which are the particular meanings attached to a cultural site by
human groups;
• Scientific and historical values, which are largely determined by the potential for
research at the site to contribute to scientific and historical knowledge;
• Rarity values, which comprise the degree to which the site represents type, style,
builder, period, region, or some combination of these better than comparable sites;
and
• Aesthetic or artistic values, such as those of architectural composition and the
integration of man-made and natural topography to form an outstanding cultural
landscape.
The management objectives of a cultural site are built upon the significance and values of
the site. The following are the management objectives for PAP as described in the
Operating Plan:
• Preserve the archaeological site, monuments, and artifacts, and the scenic quality
of Petra;
• Ensure that local people are taken into account through public participation in
planning and management of the site and that opportunities for employment of
local peoples are provided;
• Take an active role with the Petra Regional Council (now the Petra Regional
Authority (PRA)) and local governments to ensure community actions do not
impact the Park negatively;
• Provide for public awareness, appreciation, and support of Petra while enhancing
visitors’ experience and enjoyment of the Park;
• Ensure that a written determination is made, in consultation among park
management, local government, and the Petra Regional Council (now the PRA),
of potential adverse effects of all planned actions on the site and surrounding
monuments;
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 8

• Support research activities; and
• Ensure that facilities and services are safe and maintained to a high standard.
Petra Management Analysis, 1996
The Petra Management Analysis (1996) identifies the most pressing management issues
and problems, provides management analysis and recommendations to deal with these,
and outlines actions and procedures for the effective management of the cultural
resources at Petra. Specifically, the Management Analysis recommends a set of
objectives for the park based on the significance of the resources there, staff
responsibilities and authority, and standards for management and planning. It suggests
how these recommendations might be implemented. It also makes recommendations
concerning how PAP should be comprehensively organized.
The Management Analysis describes actions and procedures for the effective
management of the cultural resources at Petra in detail, including the staffing and training
required.
The issues identified in the Management Analysis are:
General Site Management
• Ineffective management structure at Petra
• The need for a comprehensively organized Petra site operation
Cultural Resource Management
• Acquiring and making accessible baseline data
• Research priorities and procedures
• Monitoring
• Treatments for preservation
• Interpretation and tourism strategy
• Public involvement and support
Based on the issues listed above, the Management Objectives are as follows:
• Preserve the archeological artifacts, monuments, and sites at Petra.
• Protect the scenic quality of the site.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 9

• Ensure that a written determination is made of potential adverse effects of all
planned actions on both the preservation of the archaeological monuments and
sites and on the experience of visitors to Petra.
• Provide for visitor education and appreciation with the opportunity of a high
quality experience in such a way that archaeological resources are not
significantly impaired.
• Ensure that visitor facilities and services are adequate to meet basic needs, are
maintained to the highest standards, and provide for visitor safety.
• Ensure that local people are involved in planning and management of the site and
that opportunities for employment of local people are provided whenever
possible.
• Take an active role as a member of the Petra Regional Planning Council and with
local governments especially Wadi Musa, Umm Sayhoun, and Tabet Zaman in
order to:
• Ensure that potential impacts to park resources and visitor experience from
inadvertent community actions do not occur.
• Ensure that the park supports local communities as much as possible without
adverse effects on park resources or the visitor experience.
• Support research activities and ensure that research activities do not impact
the preservation of archeological resources or the visitor experience. All
researchers should provide for proper conservation of artifacts in accordance
with the law.
• Ensure that all fees are collected in the most efficient and accountable manner
possible.
• Ensure that local populations and the Jordanian people understand the role of
Petra in their cultural identity and history.
The Management Analysis also outlined several interpretive themes. They are listed
below:
• The reason for the occupation of the Petra area by different groups that displayed
cultures unusually complex and sophisticated for their times over approximately
13,000 years of human history (with special attention to early Neolithic
inhabitants, biblical Edomites, and Nabataeans).
• The geology and biology of the Petra region, and how this is related to the theme
just above.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 10

• Development and control by the Nabataeans of a key segment in the trading
network that linked the great urban centers of East and West.
• The technology necessary to live and travel in the desert, and the uses to which
this was put by the Nabataeans in establishing their empire.
• The construction of the complex hydrological system at Petra, how and when the
technology was acquired, how the construction of the system was accomplished,
and how this is related to the establishment of a city by a nomadic people.
• Important aspects of Nabataean cultures visible today in the practices of the
Bedouin, specifically the Bdoul.
• The on-going program of ruins stabilization and conservation of artifacts.
• The role of the visitor in preserving the site.
• The influence of Mediterranean, mid-Eastern, and Eastern civilizations as seen in
the material culture, especially architectural, of Petra.
• Features in the landscape of Petra, both natural and those made by humans,
related to traditional Islamic, Christian, and Jewish histories.
Petra Sanctuary Carrying Capacity Analysis, 1996
As mentioned above, PAP is an extremely popular destination for visitors. The level of
visitation varies among years, but it has steadily increased in recent years. In order to
manage PAP, a carrying capacity study was undertaken. The Carrying Capacity Analysis
defines carrying capacity as “The type and level of visitor use which can be
accommodated while sustaining the desired resource and social conditions that
complement the purposes of a park and its management objectives." The Carrying
Capacity Analysis provides:
• A monitoring program that recommends the means by which to measure vital
changes in resources at Petra and the mechanisms by which monitoring can be
linked to management of the site,
• An analysis of carrying capacity that considers limiting factors, maximum use
levels, and potential management strategies, and
• Estimates of maximum numbers of people that can visit Petra on an hourly, daily,
monthly, and annual basis without deterioration of the visitor experience or
serious threat to site resources.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 11

1.5 Overall desired visitor experiences
A careful analysis of the landscape of Petra, particularly of topography; the distribution
of cultural and natural resources, especially highly significant or sensitive resources;
visitor flow, and especially constraints to visitor flow; and potential visitor use attributes
was conducted for the 1996 Carrying Capacity Analysis. At that time, locations where
these factors naturally grouped together were mapped and developed into zones. Within
the Petra Sanctuary, nine zones were identified, as shown in Maps 1 and 2.
In the case of the Sanctuary area of PAP (including Al-Khazna and Ad-Dayr), all event
requests should be denied. Events are defined as any activity that involves serving food
or beverages; providing a space for speakers, musicians, or performers; or any ceremony
or other sort of collective function that involves more than three people or the
documentation of that function that involves commercialization, advertising, or publicity;
or the set-up of special equipment or facilities, on the part of participants or organizers.
Such event include, but are not limited to, fireworks displays, concerts, weddings,
fundraisers, presentations, and other items, are not compatible with the desired uses and
visitor experiences described below. The nature of these sites is such that it would be
impossible for a group to conduct an
event or a special use without
impairing the operation of public use
facilities or services, or without
damaging Park resources. For a more
detailed discussion of event permitting,
refer to Section 5.7 Special Park Use
Permits.
The Arrival Zone
The walk from the visitor center to the
Bab al-Siq contains some of the most
interesting architecture and
hydrological features in Petra,
including tombs that display Assyrian,
Babylonian, and Egyptian motifs, and
the Djinn Blocks. Because visitors
have not been presented with
information about the significance of
what they pass by in this area and how
it relates to what else lies beyond the
Siq, the great majority simply rush by.
If properly interpreted, this area would
operate like the overture to a
symphony. The arrival zone could not
only be a rich experience in itself, but
Figure 1.5-1: Visitors in the Siq
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 12

could also sensitize the visitors to the motifs they will encounter later on. No events are
permitted.
The Siq
There is much information here that could contribute to the basic understanding of the
site. The Siq itself was a vital element in the defense system of the Nabataeans. Perhaps
more importantly, it provided an impressive entrance to the city: a stunning space for
processions that merged trade, royalty, and religion in the minds of Petra inhabitants. On
either side of the Siq are cut 71 sacred niches, at which votives were placed in ancient
times. Also clearly visible are portions of the hydrological system that brought water
from the spring at Wadi Musa and other water sources, and protected this entryway from
flash flooding.
The side channels and dams of the Siq could be points of departure for a discussion of the
importance of the hydrological system to flood control, particularly flash floods, and thus
tomb preservation, as well as of the water-harvesting function of the system. Near the
end of the Siq is a spectacular over-life-sized carving in two walls of a camel caravan, a
procession captured in stone. At the end of the Siq, of course, lies Al-Khazna. The view
of Al-Khazna from the Siq is the “signature experience” in a visit to Petra, and so should
be tied to the overall Petra interpretive themes at the visitor center. This can be done in
brochures and other interpretive devices, and at the museums in the Basin. No events are
permitted.
The Theater
The area of the theater introduces the theme of the emergent public face of Nabataean
Petra and the subsequent incorporation of Petra into the Roman Empire. This is a
provocative subject because it raises the issues of the position of Petra and the
Nabataeans in the ongoing struggle for hegemony between Persia and Greece, and later
Persia and Rome; how the Nabataeans, through their mastery of water, were able to carve
out defensible enclaves in the desert at Petra and elsewhere that allowed it to maintain its
independence; and what became of Petra after it was incorporated by Rome in 106 CE.
This last point is important because it prepares the visitor for the journey from the theater
through the Elbow, where some context must be provided for the visitor to understand
that the seemingly vacant landscape is actually the remains of numerous structures, and
on to the City Center. The visitor should be led to understand that more can be learned
about the Roman/Nabataean interface at the City Center and that this experience will
require at least three additional hours. The visitor should also be reminded where water,
food, and restrooms are, and presented with the idea that the City Center and its environs
might be worthy of an additional day’s visit. No events are permitted.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 13

The Elbow
The walk through the Elbow can be a thought-provoking experience if one is aware that
the immediate landscape contains the ruins of numerous standing structures that once
occupied this area near the center of Petra. By the time they have reached the Elbow
after a long walk from the Visitor Center, many visitors are fatigued to the extent that
they are less likely to appreciate this experience than were they rested. Adding to their
discomfort, many visitors walk through this unshaded area in early to mid-afternoon if
they have started their tour of Petra in the morning. This is an area more likely to be
appreciated on the morning of a second day. No events are permitted.
The City Center
This area holds material that might be sufficiently developed through interpretative
presentations—and eventually through archaeological research—to draw the visitor back
for a second day or a second visit. There are excellent line drawings of some of the more
aesthetically impressive structures that once stood here (see Iain Browning, 1989); these
and similar materials should be provided to visitors to increase their understanding of the
area. Presenting results from archaeological excavations that have taken place on either
side of the Roman road would do a great deal to enhance the visitor experience in the
City Center. The Great Temple Complex on the south side of the Colonnaded Street
could be used to explain to tourists various dangers to the site, such as earthquakes and
the erosion that results, deterioration of stonework especially because of salts that
degrade sandstone, seismic activity, looting, and casual pocketing of archaeological
materials found on the ground surface. It also can be used to explain stabilization by
anastylosis. Finally, it
can be utilized in a
discussion of the history
of the occupation of
Petra, since it seems that
the remains of the Great
Temple Complex are
located over those of
earlier ones, and that its
function might have
changed over time.
On the north side of the
Colonnaded Street, an
excavated Byzantine
church could provide a
point of departure for the
interpretation of what
happened to Petra in the
Byzantine era, in its late
Figure 1.5-2: Visitors walking up Turkmaniyya Road
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 14

history. Because of the impressive archaeological findings at the church, and its
historical importance, it could be the focal point for a tour or brochure of its own. These
finds included papyrus scrolls charred in a fire that occurred in the later sixth century CE.
These scrolls are now being conserved and translated, and mosaics and marble screens of
high aesthetic value are being restored. Also, on the north side of the Colonnaded Street
are the remains of the Temple of the Winged Lion. Artifacts from excavations at this
temple illustrating important aspects of Nabataean religion should be displayed at the
Visitor Center to be built at the Wadi Musa entrance to the Petra sanctuary, as should
artifacts taken from the Great Temple Complex, the Byzantine Petra Church, and other
excavations that have been or will be conducted in the City Center. The Colonnaded
Street itself provides the visitor an understanding of the changes that occurred at Petra in
106 C.E. No events are permitted.
The Basin
The Basin area contains many of the site facilities, including restaurants, museums,
restrooms, and administrative offices. Museums display artifacts from all over Petra;
while this is a logical location for such displays, more use could be made of the museums
to convey information pertinent to the adjacent City Center and ruins in the Elbow. No
events are permitted.
Turkmaniyya Road
Turkmaniyya Road provides another route to the City Center, one that is closed now to
all but official traffic and those who have obtained special permission in advance. It is
recommended that this be used as an exit point from Petra, and a point of entry for
visitors on the second and succeeding days of their visit. The road should not b e widened,
and environmentally appropriate means of transportation should be identified for use
here. The tombs along this road should be interpreted. No events are permitted.
Trails (Near Country)
Near Country trails provide an opportunity to observe antiquities in the company of fewer
people and in a quieter environment that might invite contemplation. They take one to
some of the more spectacular views and constructions at Petra, like the High Place of
Sacrifice and Ad-Dayr. But because behavior on trails is less likely to be observed,
vandalism and looting on sites near trails is more likely to go unchecked, and visitors
who might be injured or suffer from health problems because of the rugged and harsh
environment of Petra are less likely to be provided assistance quickly. Falls and heart
attacks are special problems on trails; site personnel have indicated that four or five
people die each year from these causes. More become lost. These people are often found
by the local Bdoul. Thus, a vital part of the interpretive program for trails should be to
encourage visitors to use a guide for these trails (except Ad-Dayr) and make visitors
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 15

aware of the dangers and of their responsibility to know the available resources at their
disposal. The trails to the High Place of Sacrifice and to Ad-Dayr are extremely
demanding. It should be well publicized that only those in very good physical condition
should take these trails. Special events are not permitted.
Trails (Back Country)
Back Country trails is defined as secondary trails from which some part of the central
area of Petra (the Theater, the Elbow, the City Center, and the Basin) cannot be seen at all
times (excepting trails to the High Place of Sacrifice and Ad-Dayr, which for the
purposes of this document are considered Near Country trails). Back Country trails may
require a guide, and often a camel or donkey, at the guide's discretion. Interpretation of
Back Country trails should be provided by the guide, supplemented by a brochure. It
should be expected that only a small percentage of visitors will experience the Back
Country, and only a minority will experience any trails at all. Those that do should sign
in with their hotel of their intended route. The main thrust of the interpretive program at
Petra should be directed to the central area of Petra. Interpretive emphasis at trails should
be on protecting resources and visitors.
Table 1.5: Summary of Desired Uses and Conditions of Management Zones
Management Zone Desired Use Desired Conditions
Arrival
Basic visitor orientation.
Transition from modern to ancient
world. Must provide list of
possible experiences, location of
essential amenities (restrooms,
food, and refreshments), map, and
orientation to the park. No events
are permitted.
Focus is on cleanliness;
clarity of message, effective
presentation to visitor of
options and the location of
basic services. Inviting and
engaging atmosphere,
knowledgeable, friendly,
and hospitable Visitor
Center employees.
Opportunity to rest and
renew before entering the
Siq
Theater
Interpretation of significant
archaeological resources and
natural forces that produced the
Siq, instilling a sense of awe. No
events are permitted.
Establish connection with Greco-
Roman city planning tradition,
discussion of Nabataean stoneworking
mastery, discussion of
role of Nabataeans in Greco-
Roman world. No events are
Siq.
Quiet, natural smells and
sounds, clear but nonobtrusive
interpretive media.
Clear but non-obtrusive
interpretive devices that do
not degrade the resource.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 16

Management Zone Desired Use Desired Conditions
permitted.
Elbow Turn Rest areas, comfort stations,
transition to central portion of
ancient town and orientation of
visitor to City Center layout;
interpreting the role of Petra in
trade, and the flow of water into
City Center and into agricultural
fields above city. No events are
permitted.
Clean restrooms,
opportunities for
comfortable rest,
opportunities to rehydrate.
Clear but non-obtrusive
interpretive devices.
City Center
Basin
Turkmaniyya Road
Near Country Trails
Explanation of probable layout of
Edomite, Nabataean, Roman,
Byzantine, Crusader, and Bedouin
occupation of the area. No events
are permitted.
Review of experience, rest and
renewal. No events are
permitted.
Return route to modern world,
enhancement of experience by
using traditional modes of
transport, viewing of additional
tombs from perspective of ancient
city as one gains elevation. No
events are permitted.
Specialized guided tours to
additional locations. No events
are permitted.
Clear explanations and
depictions of the ancient
cityscape that do not depend
on destructive research or
devices.
Clean restroom and dining
facilities. Clear instructions
for option to returning to
modern world.
Traditional but comfortable
modes of transport offered
in non-aggressive fashion,
interpretive devices to
interpret features along the
road, summary of
experiences in park and
suggestions for additional
ones.
Opportunities for more indepth
experience with
guides that ensure
undesirable activities are not
allowed and provide a safe
experience.
1.6 Visitor profiles
The number of visitors to Petra varies from year to year, although several patterns have
emerged. In 2007, according to the Jordanian Tourism Board (JTB), the number of
visitors was 581,145. This is an increase of 62 percent over 2006, when visitors to Petra
totaled 359,366. The year 2007 also represents Petra’s highest annual level of visitation
ever. Petra has experienced a 260 percent increase in visitation since 2002.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 17

Petra is a site that is of global significance, and as such, it attracts visitors from
throughout the world. Europeans represent the largest geographic origin of visitors to
Petra, with 284,381 visitors in 2007. Visitors from Jordan made up the next highest
group, with approximately 122,679 visitors, followed by those from the Americas
(49,656), Asia (68,987), and Arab countries (33,316).
Visitors spend approximately 1.8 days in Petra. This ranks as the fourth-longest visitor
stay among tourist destinations in Jordan.
Based on a 2006 survey, among the reasons visitors give for coming to Petra are
education, leisure/adventure, and sight seeing. In 2007, those arriving for educational
purposes made up 15.2 percent of visitors, while those who came for leisure/adventure
made up 32.6 percent. Sightseeing was cited by 52 percent as their purpose in visiting
the Park.
People of all ages come to Petra. The largest group consists of those between the ages of
25 and 50, which make up 48 percent of visitors. Those under 25 represent 28 percent of
visitation and 50 and older account for 24 percent of visitation.
Further surveys are needed to better understand visitors. This is particularly the case with
school groups. Such research could include how many, how far into the site do they
venture, and how many are repeat visitors.
1.7 Issues affecting interpretation
As stated in the Operating Plan, surveys of visitor satisfaction indicate a rate of
satisfaction with the experience of Petra that is lower than one would expect given the
spectacular nature of the site. Much of this is a failure to have an effective interpretive
program. Issues that have been identified are listed below:
• Most visitors leave with at best a
partial grasp of what they have seen,
who built it and why, and why it is
important.
• There is also widespread concern that
visitors are not spending enough time
at the site to provide income to
hoteliers, restaurateurs, and others
associated with the tourism industry in
the area. While the strenuous nature of
the walk through Petra is one reason
for these low percentages, another
reason is that visitors simply are not
aware of the significance of the sites
Figure 1.7: Visitor Dispute with Horseback
Ride Provider
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 18

eyond Al-Khazna, or, in some cases, that these sites even exist.
• Chaotic ticketing: The lines are not clear. Individual visitors jockey with tour group
leaders to purchase tickets.
• Unclear fee structure: The visitor often does not know that the price of a horse ride is
included in a group tour ticket. Prices for other services are not prominently posted,
leading to haggling and conflicts between service providers and visitors.
• Degradation of archaeological resources: People and animals have caused the
degradation of the site. Donkeys in particular are responsible for the significant
damage to the steps to Ad-Dayr and to the High Place of Sacrifice.
• No orientation to site: Little in the way of signage and interpretive messages is
provided. There are approximately 32 interpretive signs at the site, although some
messages are garbled. Over 60 percent of the signs are facing the wrong direction
from the point of interest they are interpreting.
• Proliferation and expansion of sales area: There are now 79 concession stands
throughout the park.
2.0 Interpretive Themes
Interpretive themes described in this section provide guidance and measures for the
interpretive program. The themes convey the most important concepts of PAP. Takeaway
messages are the concepts and knowledge that people should be able to recall upon
exiting the park. If people remember certain pieces of information, it is likely that the
themes have been effectively conveyed to them.
2.1 Theme 1: The Landscape of Petra Fostered Human
Development
Petra was destined by geography to be the stage on which some of the most remarkable
human dramas have been enacted. The Wadi Araba, a chasm between tectonic plates
through which the Jordan River flows, is an extension of the Great Rift of Africa, which
has formed a corridor for the movement of human and hominoid populations as well as
for animals and plants. The ancestors of modern humans were in the area at least
250,000 years ago. Among the myriad plants and animals were the greatest
concentration of domesticable species in the world; these formed the basis for small
towns and cities that appeared here as early as anywhere on earth. Consequently, the
World Heritage Site of Petra contains an enormous number of extremely important
archaeological sites.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 19

Among these archaeological sites are those of the Natufian era that provide evidence of
the first human attempts to settle into communities; the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, during
which sophisticated architecture developed; Edomite towns in this “Valley of Moses”
that were prominent in the religious writings of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian religions;
the Nabataeans, who built the spectacular city of Petra here at the advent of the Common
Era; a Byzantine administrative and worship center; and two Crusader castles.
This theme will explore how humans have been attracted by the environment of Petra and
how they have changed the landscape. Visitors will be informed of the cultures that
initiated important changes in the relationship between humans and nature.
The theme described above will lead into a concise history of the Nabataean occupation
of “The Valley of Moses”:
About the sixth century B.C. the Nabataeans, originally ancient Arab nomads from
Arabia, moved into the southern part of Jordan, the area formerly known as Edom. By
the second century B.C. they had already established a well-organized and strong
monarchy and had undergone a process of sedentarization. Petra became the capital of
the kingdom, as it was located at the crossroads of the ancient trade routes and had
access to a plentiful supply of water and a defensive canyon wall. Through the first
centuries B.C.-A.D., Petra grew to become a huge city encompassing approximately 10
square kilometers and accommodating approximately 50,000 people ruling over about
1,000 Nabataean sites ranging from cities to small agricultural villages. Most of what
can be seen at Petra today is Nabataean, including many temples, more than 1,000 burial
monuments, and hundreds if not thousands of houses.
The landscape of the area has changed over time due to human influence. People built
dams to avoid flooding. Water channels and cisterns were carved into the rock, allowing
for development of this arid region. The Nabataeans carved chambers, tombs, and
sculptures into the rock throughout Petra, forming the landscape that can be seen now.
2.1.1: Subthemes
The natural features of the Petra region enabled early peoples and later cultures to
successfully inhabit the land.
The area is fertile and well suited to agriculture.
There is remarkable environmental diversity within a small area.
The canyons can be thought of as “proto-architecture”; that is, they provided shelter
from the sun and wind.
The canyons also provided the inspiration and the environment in which to construct a
water management system.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 20

The soft sandstone rock contributed to the development of elaborate rock-cut tombs and
other Nabataean funerary monuments that were a part of Nabataean religious practices.
2.2 Theme 2: Hydrology
The Nabataeans developed and utilized the technology necessary to live and travel in the
desert. This was a key element in establishing their empire.
The Nabataeans created one of the most sophisticated water management systems in the
world, one perfectly suited to their desert home. Some scholars have suggested that the
Romans learned how to manage water in arid environments from the Nabataeans. There
was ample motive for this: the Nabataeans first came to power and wealth by exploiting
their knowledge of the locations of water in the Arabian Desert, and by safeguarding
these precious resources.
The Nabataeans managed water resources for Petra, and the agriculture that sustained it,
through a complex system of dams, water channels and pipelines, settling basins,
reservoirs, and cisterns cut into the rock, all of which protected the precious water from
the desert sun. These improvements concentrated and stored the heavy rains of a short
wet season. They also minimized the erosion that flash floods might otherwise have
caused the city. The Nabataeans also lined the Siq with water channels and water pipes
to carry water into their city from distant springs. The most productive of these is Ain
Musa (the Spring of Moses) in current-day Wadi Musa. Archaeological surveys in Petra
have registered more than 200 water storage-related installations such as cisterns and
tanks with a total capacity of about 40 million liters, enough to sustain a population of
more than 100,000.
2.2.1 Subthemes
The engineering and technology used in the water management system enabled the
development of Petra. The Nabataeans improved upon existing methods, and they also
made advancements in new technologies.
2.3 Theme 3: Nabataeans and Trade
The Nabataeans occupied and controlled a key segment of a trading network linking the
great urban centers of the East and West during ancient times.
By the first century BC the Nabataeans monopolized the Arabian overland caravan trade,
a situation that persisted for the next two centuries. A great volume of commercial traffic
passed through Nabataean territory on its way to and from the Mediterranean world,
Africa, Mesopotamia, and southern Arabia.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 21

This period witnessed an increasing demand for incense, which became valued for use at
social occasions and was also used in medicine and worship. At funerals, mass quantities
of frankincense were burned, for it was believed that its fragrant smoke pleased the gods
with regard to the welfare of the departed in the afterlife.
In addition to Arabian frankincense and myrrh, the Nabataeans also traded spices from
Southeast Asia, Chinese silk, and other Asian items that were transported by sea into
ports of southern Arabia. The Horn of Africa, mainly Somalia and Ethiopia, was a major
center for producing frankincense, myrrh, and other precious items, such as ivory, which
were also shipped to south Arabian ports. Camel caravans loaded with these goods
traveled up to Petra along western Arabia.
Although it is known that the Nabataeans exported frankincense, it is unclear what
commodities they received in exchange from Egypt, Rome, and Petra’s other trading
partners. Gold and other precious metals are cited as one possibility, although no
archaeological record has been found at this time to validate this claim.
A number of wealthy communities and states emerged around the trading corridor of the
Red Sea during the first millennium B.C. as a result of their participation in the overland
caravan trade of the aromatic gum, frankincense and myrrh. In fact, entrepots, small
coastal states based on trade, sprang up as far away as current-day Malaysia, Cambodia,
and Indonesia to satisfy increasing demand for spices and silk. This trade intensified
during the later centuries B.C. due to the prosperous Hellenistic kingdoms in the eastern
Mediterranean. As a result, a new and accessible market for the Arabian trade was
created.
The great prosperity resulting from this extensive trade is evident in the opulence of the
royal capital at Petra, with its large temples, tombs, and other public structures.
2.3.1 Subthemes
As a result of the trade routes, visitors can find the influence of Mediterranean, Near
Eastern, and Asian civilizations on Petra.
Caravans were the primary method of transport of goods throughout the Arabian
Peninsula.
Commerce with other areas led to mass wealth accumulated in the hands of Nabataean
traders, as indicated in their elaborate funerary and domestic architecture.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 22

2.4 Theme 4: Petra in Religious Histories and Traditions
Features in the landscape of Petra, both natural and man-made, appear in the religious
histories and traditions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The landscape altered as the
religious practices of inhabitants changed.
The religious practices of Petra were dynamic, changing over time. Evidence of this is
found throughout the region, from the scattered archaeological remains of the Edomites,
who are mentioned in the Bible, to the elaborate Nabataean tombs that are the heart of
Petra. The identification of some of these places in the region as religious sites is based
on oral tradition. Other sites are described in religious texts, while the religious
significance of others is based on archaeological evidence. Regardless, all of this
evidence describes an ancient world that has shaped the beliefs of people for millennia.
2.4.1 Subthemes
The Bible and other religious texts refer to the habitation of Petra by a number of groups
whose presence supported by archaeological evidence.
According to religious traditions, many locations in the Petra region are the sites of
important events. Some of these are mentioned in religious texts, while others are
referred to in oral histories.
Christianity came to Petra during the city’s administration by Rome. The spread of
Christianity can be seen in many points of interest throughout the region.
By the seventh century, Islam became the dominant religion in the Petra region, which
continues to this day.
2.5 Theme 5: Bedouin Culture
The Bedouin way of life has persisted for thousands of years and continues in the Petra
region today, although some adjustments to the modern world have been made and
contemporary materials are sometimes used in place of traditional ones. The Bedouin
lifestyle is based on seasonal movement to exploit resources like plants, pasture, animal
populations, and even horticultural plots as these resources become ready for use by
humans.
For thousands of years, Bedouins have lived in an essentially unaltered way: they have
traveled the desert to gather the necessities of life, to find shelter for themselves and their
herds of goats from the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter, and to meet with
other tribes for trade and social events. While some have become more settled, all retain
many aspects of their nomadic lifestyle. Most Bedouins have combined the two lifestyles
to some degree. Even those that continue to move from place to place as pasture
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 23

ecomes exhausted, wild plants ripen, or grains that they have planted earlier in the year
as they passed through a certain location become ready for harvest might acquire modern
items like a small pickup truck, plastic water containers, or a kerosene stove.
The Bedouins that now reside in communities near Petra once lived within the boundaries
of the world heritage site. They stayed in tombs, or used them as goat pens or storage
areas. They were moved out of the tombs in the 1980s, a sacrifice to the need to preserve
the tombs, as smoke from fires and animal waste was damaging tomb interiors, including
the delicate frescoes that can still be found in some. The government plans to provide
opportunities for visitors to learn about and enjoy Bedouin culture, which includes the
astonishingly designed and constructed Bedouin tents that provide a pleasant
environment during all kinds of weather conditions, the strong tea and coffee that is an
epicurean delight, and especially the remarkable hospitality for which Bedouins are wellknown.
2.5.1 Subthemes
Specific cultural attributes, such as a famous sense of hospitality, can be traced to the
Bedouin pattern of mobility.
At Petra, most of Bedouin income is derived from tourism, which permits a more settled
way of life and provides opportunities for education and medical care. However, buying
items and services from children means that they are working at Petra, rather than
attending school. For this reason, visitors should avoid buying from children.
Although nomadic, many Bedouins lived for periods of time in the caves and tombs of
Petra.
2.6 Theme 6: Evolving Relationship with Rome
The trade in ritual and prestige goods that brought great wealth to the Nabataeans
burgeoned as the Roman Republic became Imperial Rome. The Nabataeans jockeyed for
position through political and military means as the trade increased, the trading network
expanded, and circumstances that shaped the trading network changed with Roman
expansion. Ultimately, the Nabataean Kingdom was annexed by Rome.
Initially, Rome was one of several wealthy and relatively powerful states in the
Mediterranean region, including Egypt and the emerging centers of the greater Hellenistic
world in Asia Minor, which consumed the goods traded by the Nabataeans, including
aromatics and spices, and probably also ivory, gold, and silk. The Nabataeans absorbed
aspects of all of these cultures. The real flowering of Nabataea as a commercial center
coincided with the rise of Rome as an imperial power.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 24

By the first century C.E., Rome had come to dominate the Mediterranean region.
Although the exact circumstances remain unclear, Rome annexed Petra in 106 C.E.,
incorporating it within the newly created Roman province of Arabia Petraia. Under
Roman administration, Petra continued to function as a viable center through the third
century C.E. despite diminished trade prospects.
2.6.1 Subthemes
The architecture of the city of Petra was influenced by many of the great states and
empires of the ancient world, including those of ancient Mesopotamia as well as the later
Hellenistic centers of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has been suggested that Ptolemaic
Alexandria provided the initial model for the city. In continually seeking to improve their
position in a trading network that included Greece, Persia, Rome, India, and Arabia, and
that stretched ultimately to China, the Nabataeans provided a conduit for goods and
ideas among these groups. The architecture of Petra that survives today testifies to the
exchange of cultural traits that occurred on a global scale even in ancient times.
During the first century C.E., the Roman state exerted increasing influence on various
levels, including the overall layout of the city of Petra, as well as perhaps the increasing
grandeur and size of some of the tombs. Roman influence culminated with the city’s
annexation by Rome in the early second century C.E.
Trade routes were realigned by Rome in the second century C.E. for a number of possible
reasons. Among these might have been efforts by Rome to make trade routes more secure
from the predations of brigands on land and pirates on the sea.
Centuries after the annexation of Petra by Rome, the city of Petra declined in both
regional importance and in population.
2.7 Theme 7: Natural Disasters at Petra
Earthquakes hastened the depopulation of the city.
Many buildings were never rebuilt after a severe earthquake in 363 C.E. and another in
the seventh century seem to have deal a death blow to the city. Even more than the loss of
life and collapse of buildings, the damage to the hydrological infrastructure probably
rendered the city incapable of supporting large numbers of people. As time went on, the
ability of the Roman Empire to provide the resources necessary to repair Petra’s
infrastructure attenuated.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 25

2.7.1 Subthemes
The earthquakes knocked down many hundreds of structures. The only freestanding
structure today is the Qasr Al-Bint.
The earthquake of 363 C.E. caused a fire at the Petra Church, leaving many
administrative records written on papyri, charred. Ironically, this preserved them, and
painstaking research has yielded much information about day-to-day life in Byzantine
Petra.
2.8 Theme 8: Conservation at Petra
This wonder of the world offers visitors an opportunity to explore cultures from the past,
both familiar and unknown. Each visitor has an important role in preserving the site for
the future. Although the carvings and sites within the Petra Archaeological Park have
existed for thousands of years, they are very fragile. What lies below the surface of the
ground at Petra is also very important. Great discoveries await us through examination
of sites and artifacts at Petra. Any destruction of these sites or removal of artifacts
destroys the context that is essential to the science of archaeology. Information that
might have become part of the global cultural heritage is lost forever.
Petra offers the visitor an opportunity to experience the ancient world in a stunning
setting. Accordingly, visitors often want to explore the recesses, tombs, and staircases at
Petra. Unfortunately, the area is incredibly fragile. Most visitors appreciate the resources,
and are interested in their preservation. However, many visitors do not realize that even
simple actions can negatively impact on the resources in ways that are not obviously
apparent. For example, touching the sandstone caravan carving in the Siq wears it away,
adding to its degradation.
Flash floods sometimes rage through areas of the site, damaging tombs, because of the
destruction of the ancient water management system. This destruction has been
accelerated by development around Petra.
Visitors are offered antiquities for sale. While some of these are forgeries, others are real.
Buying them encourages the ransacking of archaeological sites for saleable items such as
coins.
Although several important academic research and excavation projects are ongoing, the
best agents to preserve Petra are the visitors. Informing visitors of their potential impact
can make a real difference in attitudes, encouraging tourists to see themselves as stewards
of the incredible archaeology of the park.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 26

2.8.1: Subthemes
Each visitor has an important role in preserving the site
for the future by staying out of tombs, not touching
carved stone, staying off walls, and not buying antiquities
such as coins.
Outreach and
Pre-Arrival
More research to understand the complexities of the
ancient water management system is needed. Following
this, action must be taken to utilize the system to divert
water away from tombs and archaeological sites.
3.0 Future Interpretive Program
The visitor’s experience with PAP actually begins before
his or her arrival at the site. Likewise, it does not end
when the visitor leaves the site. With this in mind,
outlined below are the stages of the visitor’s experience at
PAP. These stages are outreach and pre-arrival, on-site
orientation and access, on-site exploration, and off-site
programming and links. Figure 3.0 illustrates the journey
of the visitor experience, from before arrival to after
leaving the park.
This section identifies the desired future and the actions
needed for each stage of interpretation. The desired future
entries describe the content and foundation of the
comprehensive interpretive program. The actions, shown
in the categories of media, personal services and
facilities, provide steps for implementation.
3.1 Outreach and pre-arrival
Outreach and pre-arrival activities offer information to
visitors and potential visitors to PAP before they arrive.
Most visitors to PAP are visiting the park for the first
time. Frequently, viewing a website or brochure is their
first contact with PAP. The information will prepare
people for a visit to the site. The information will help
visitors form expectations of the facilities and
understand opportunities available at PAP.
Orientation
and
Access
On-Site
Exploration
Off-Site
Programming
and Links
Figure 3.0: Diagram of Visitor
Experience
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 27

3.1.1 Desired future
Potential and virtual visitors to PAP will find information that builds anticipation and
appropriate expectations. This information will prepare them to visit the site. The
information will convey:
• The location of PAP and how to reach it.
• The price of tickets, what is included in the price of the tickets, and how to obtain
them.
• What to expect at PAP. This includes an introduction to the various points of
interest and the rules in visiting those points of interest. The visitor will
understand the conditions, e.g. climate and terrain, that pertain to visiting the
various points of interest.
• What services are available at PAP, such as guide services.
• An overview of interpretive themes and programs of the PAP. This will provide
information about the historic and environmental importance of the resources, and
ways in which visitors can affect and assist in resource protection.
• Information about the local community, including links to restaurants, lodging,
entertainment, shopping, and other services.
3.1.2 Actions
Media
• Develop a website that will orient visitors to Petra and introduce them to the
themes and points of interest in PAP.
• Identify sites related to Petra and include them in the pre-arrival messages. These
sites could include Kerak, Khirbet et-Tannur, Khirbet edh-Dharih, Dana Nature
Reserve, and Shobak.
• Develop an outreach strategy to increase public awareness of the themes and
experiences of PAP using a variety of methods. These include
o Work with tour operators to introduce visitors to the themes,
especially conservation themes, before arrival. For example, tour
operators could review the concepts of the themes on the bus to Petra and
provide handouts that reinforce them.
o Work with JTB to develop a strategy that conveys the interpretive
themes.
o Ensure that the brochures developed are placed in appropriate
locations, such as local hotels and other visitor sites outside of PAP. The
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 28

ochures will highlight the sites within Petra and introduce visitors to the
interpretive themes. The conservation theme will specifically be
emphasized.
• Use new media, such as podcasts, to convey the interpretive themes by making
them available on the website.
3.2 Orientation and access
One of the purposes of interpretation includes orienting the visitor to the site and
providing information about how to access facilities and points of interest within the site.
The arrival is that point at which detailed information to the visitor about Petra begins,
and where basic orientation is repeated. The main entrance, which includes the Visitor
Center, will serve as the main point for site orientation. Due to the numerous points of
interest, additional directional and interpretive information will be placed throughout
PAP. In addition to its orientation functions, the Visitor Center is also where ticketing
should occur, except online ticketing that might be developed in the future.
3.2.1 Desired future
Visitors arriving at PAP and seeing information about what there is to see and do will:
• feel that they are entering a special place for discovery and exploration.
• find all the information they need in one location to make informed choices about
how to explore PAP.
• understand the points of interest in PAP and their locations.
• understand the services offered in PAP and how to access them.
• understand the guided tours offered in PAP and how to register for them.
• understand the rules for visiting and exploring PAP and the consequences if the
rules are not followed.
• understand their role and responsibility in protecting the fragile resources in PAP.
• have self-guided options that achieve interpretive theme objectives.
• receive an overview of the interpretive themes and opportunities in PAP.
• find information on related sites.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 29

• feel prepared and well-equipped for their adventure.
3.2.2 Actions
Media
• The entrance to PAP should be clearly marked.
• Install signs to clearly indicate location of ticketing.
• Prepare and implement a comprehensive sign program that includes:
o Wayfinding signs to help visitors identify the proper course.
o Interpretive signs (wayside exhibits).
o Orientation signs.
o Trailhead information.
o Consistent safety and warning information.
o A Plan Your Visit sign at the entrance.
• Develop exhibits at the Visitor Center to orient visitors to the site, and inform
them of what to expect.
• Update the existing PAP self-guided visit map to include a list of the
opportunities beyond the Sanctuary. Include on the self-guided visit map up-todate
locations of visitor services, such as refreshments and toilets.
• Produce a series of detailed self-guided interpretive maps that direct visitors on
routes beyond the Sanctuary and that convey thematically linked interpretive
messages connected to park resources.
Facilities
• Create an interim Visitor Center that will serve the same function as the new
permanent Visitor Center while it is under construction. An existing structure is
preferred.
• Develop a new Visitor Center and exhibits.
• Provide a clearly marked entrance to PAP, with an overhead sign.
3.3 On-site exploration
On-site exploration will help visitors experience Petra in a responsible and enjoyable
way. Promoting appropriate exploration requires informing them of the exploration
possibilities of the site and how to reach those possibilities, and describing the variety of
opportunities and experiences that are available.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 30

3.3.1 Desired future
Visitors will find opportunities to:
• Experience the awe of the archaeological resources in a responsible way.
• Utilize self-guided tours that achieve interpretive theme objectives.
• Experience interpretive programs.
• Understand why the peoples in the distant past came to Petra, how they used the
land to its fullest advantage, and why it became a center of activity.
• Understand the protection strategies for PAP and impacts visitors can have on the
resources.
• Understand the impact of the ancient site and its setting on the life ways of the
Bedouins today.
• Understand the exchange of influences between ancient Petra and the world
beyond.
• Provide feedback.
3.3.2 Actions
Media
• Through wayside exhibits, brochures, site bulletins, guided walks and tours,
education programs, and electronic media, interpret the importance of PAP
resources and current efforts to protect them.
• Develop appropriate electronic interpretive materials that can be downloaded or
transmitted to a mobile device such as a mobile phone or digital music player.
Programming
• Review all programs, such as Petra by Night, to ensure that they are consistent
with the interpretive themes and preservation and conservation goals of Park
resources.
• Partner with tour guides, the local Bedouin community, and other organizations to
develop specialized tours at Petra. The subject of these tours might include the
architecture of Petra, Nabataean religion and burial customs, hydrology and
engineering of Petra, natural features and wildlife, and the Bedouin lifestyle.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 31

• Offer special programs on weekends and at other times that focus on aspects of
interpretive themes. Programs might include sample archaeological excavations,
reenactments, showings of movies filmed in or that are about Petra, tours with the
Bedouin community describing their traditions, and lectures. These can be done
on-site or off-site, as appropriate. No events should be held in the Sanctuary.
Any special park uses will go through the permitting process.
Facilities
• Use specific interpretive concepts at the Old Museum, the New Petra Museum,
and Nazzal’s Camp, developing exhibits to address the concepts.
3.4 Off-site programming and links
The off-site programming and links will offer visitors ways to learn about Petra outside
the actual park. Programming will direct visitors to physical and experiential
opportunities related to the area.
3.4.1 Desired future
Upon completion of their visit, people will have opportunities to:
• find information on complementary experiences, including information about
places linked to the Petra story.
• review the themes of PAP.
• acquire information about future programs sponsored by PAP and its partners,
encouraging a return visit.
• find information on services provided off-site, including shopping and
opportunities to interact with the local community.
• continue dialogue about their experiences.
3.4.2 Actions
Media
• Provide visitors with information regarding local communities and the
interpretation opportunities available there.
• Provide visitors with information regarding nearby sites, such as Shobak, Kerak,
and the Nabataean sites of Khirbet et-Tannur and Khirbet edh-Dharih.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 32

• Encourage local businesses, educators, volunteer organizations, conservation
groups and others to bring the themes of PAP to new audiences. In the case of
local businesses, such as a hotel, this could mean encouraging staff to be aware of
the conservation needs of the site and reminding people of them.
• In partnership with non-profit organizations and businesses, develop off-site
programming, such as lecture series.
• Develop educational programs for distribution throughout the world.
4.0 Interpretive Media Prescriptions
This section describes guidelines for the interpretive program for PAP. In some cases,
suggestions for interpretation are provided, but the focus is to develop a list of things that
will be included, regardless of the topic.
Master narratives will serve as the basis for interpretation of specific points of interest
within PAP. They will provide basic and accurate information for many of the resource
features at Petra. These master narratives are texts that will be adapted for use on
wayside exhibits, brochures, training modules, and other interpretive devices mentioned
in this section and the rest of the Interpretive Plan. The texts can be edited or expanded,
depending upon the need. The master narratives are found in Appendix A. These will be
finalized, pending sign-off from the Director of Antiquities and PAP Director.
4.1 Staffing requirements and costs
4.1.1 Existing Conditions
Staffing of the interpretive program at Petra has frequently been ad hoc. The museums
do not have a director, nor does the Visitor Center. Additional interpretive functions,
such as exhibit planning, do not have staff dedicated to these activities.
4.1.2 Recommendations
Full-time staff dedicated to interpretation are necessary for the interpretive program of
Petra to be successful. The Operating Plan outlines the staffing requirements for the
interpretive program. The positions include Director, Visitor Center and Museum;
Administrative Assistant; Publications and Exhibit Planner; and Senior Interpretive
Specialist. Staff needs dedicated to the Visitor Center are also discussed.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 33

Director, Visitor Center and Museums
This position has responsibility for all aspects of the operations of the Petra
Archaeological Park Visitor Center and the Petra Archaeological Park Museums. The
incumbent also acts as Chief, Branch of the Visitor Center, Interpretation, and Education.
He or she coordinates all aspects of the PAP interpretive program and the exhibits at the
Visitor Center and Museums to advance Petra Archaeological Park policies, regulations,
and operating procedures. The incumbent produces and periodically updates the
Interpretive Plan for Petra Archaeological Park and oversees the formulation of tours and
other interpretive devices and programs. These programs will include public outreach
programs that are directed toward special groups, including but not limited to children
(arriving at the Park in school groups or with family or friends), persons with vocational
or strong non-vocational interests in history and archaeology, and groups on tour of the
Holy Land. This person has the primary responsibility for elevating and maintaining the
quality of interpretive programs at Petra Archaeological Park.
Administrative Assistant
The incumbent performs clerical and administrative duties including word processing,
scheduling appointments, filing, photocopying, and making travel arrangements, and
performs related duties as assigned by his or her supervisor. The incumbent also acts as
the personal assistant to his or her supervisor and keeps the supervisor’s appointment
calendar.
Publications and Exhibit Planner
The incumbent plans all Park publications and exhibits, and coordinates Visitor Center
and Museum exhibits and interpretive materials with Park Interpretive Specialists. This
individual oversees the printing and publication of monographs, brochures, and
informational maps as well as the planning and fabrication of exhibits, interpretive signs,
and other interpretive materials by Park staff; and he or she draws up and manages
contracts for such work.
Senior Interpretive Specialist
The person occupying this position produces interpretive plans; formulates interpretive
programs; monitors the effectiveness of interpretive programs by assisting the monitoring
specialist in formulating indicators, instruments, and standards for visitor satisfaction
with the Park experience; ensures equitable access to prospective customers; assists in the
accredited training programs for employing local individuals as guides; develops evening
interpretive programs; develops education modules for use by schools in Jordan and
internationally; develops materials for guides; develops programs to accommodate
visiting school groups; coordinates the activities of tour companies to ensure that the
experience they are providing to visitors meets monitoring standards; develops plans to
regulate visitor flow through Petra so as to enhance the visitor experience; and, overall,
manages guide programs in the park. Interpretive programs will be considered a means
by which to assist in the achievement of management goals and will be designed
accordingly. Special emphasis will be placed upon involving local groups, such as the
Bedouin who once occupied Petra and adjacent regions, in the interpretive program.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 34

Visitor Center Staff
Visitor Center staff will focus only on those services needed by the visitor. In addition to
the Director, the Visitor Center will require three additional employees: two people as
greeters and one person as Audio-Visual Technician. Greeters will welcome visitors as
they enter, wear uniforms to identify themselves as employees of PAP, direct people to
the appropriate location for their needs, and answer visitor questions.
An audio-visual technician will run the movie at the Visitor Center; monitor the video
displays, repair any audio-visual equipment as needed, and update the displays using
materials developed by the Visitor Center Director and staff.
The Maintenance Section of the Visitor Services Division will perform maintenance of
the Visitor Center, ensuring that the building is kept in working order. Cleaning is one
component of maintaining the Visitor Center. Of particular importance is ensuring that
the toilets are kept clean and in good working condition.
4.2 Fee interpretation (interpretive experiences for which the
visitor pays extra)
The key to appropriate fee interpretation is to ensure that a program given by the guides,
who work independently of the Park, adheres to the interpretive themes. Coordination
between PAP and the guides is essential.
4.2.1 Existing Conditions
The guides explain the significance of the points of interest and general interpretation of
the site. All groups visiting Petra are required to have a certified Jordanian guide with
them during their visit. Guides provide services in Arabic, English, French, and Italian.
Under the current system, the tour guide is either a national guide (general guide who can
practice in all areas) or a local guide (site guide for a specific site). In order to obtain a
license, the tour guide must meet the following requirements:
• is a Jordanian citizen,
• is at least twenty years old,
• has not been convicted of any crime affecting honor or public morals,
• holds a bachelor degree or and equivalent diploma in tourist guiding service from
an accredited college (Currently, Jordan Applied University is the only accredited
institution to offer the tour guide training program),
• has passed a foreign language test, and
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 35

• has passed the test of the tourist guiding course held by MoTA.
After passing the MoTA tourist guiding test and fulfilling all other requirements, the
guide pays fees and obtains a license. The regulations do not differentiate between the
licensing requirements of these two categories of guide, although in practice MoTA
licenses the tour guide as a local guide if his or her marks in the exam are between 70%
and 79%, and licenses him or her as a national guide if his marks are above 80%.
New regulations are in the process of being drafted. One change under consideration is to
develop new classifications: general guide and specialized guide. A general guide would
obtain more qualifications and take courses to be certified as a specialized guide in a
specific theme.
The tour guides are paid directly by visitors or by a tour operator, who is obligated to
have a Jordanian tour guide with the tour group.
4.2.2 Recommendations
The Senior Interpretive Specialist will ensure that the guides are prepared and have the
necessary knowledge to succeed in achieving the objectives. The following are
guidelines for interpretation:
• Prepare modules that cover specific topics (hydrology, architecture, etc.). This
level of detailed information will generally not be available through the Visitor
Center or wayside exhibits.
• Prepare interpretive modules for each of the Back Country trails.
• Provide training for guides to ensure they are familiar with the themes. This must
be done in coordination with the guides and with MoTA.
• Provide training for guides to effectively communicate with and manage visitors.
This will include identifying tactics to avoid and/or deal with challenging
situations with visitors.
• For guides providing tours to remote areas, ensure that they are physically capable
of negotiating the terrain.
• As part of the new regulations for guides, incorporate an oral component as part
of the exam.
4.3 Programming
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 36

Exit interviews with visitors to historic sites and focus groups indicate that the factor that
most influences visitor satisfaction is the degree to which they feel that they have formed
a pleasant relationship with those associated with the site. Accordingly, an experience in
Petra is often much more than simply hiking through the Sanctuary. Programs offer ways
for people to interact in a more meaningful way with the environment and the people in
nearby communities, as well as to learn about and explore the Park environment.
4.3.1 Existing Conditions
Programming in Petra is conducted primarily on-site by both PAP and non-profit
organizations. The Petra by Night is a nightly tour overseen by PAP. Friends of
Archaeology, a non-profit organization, conducts periodic tours of the site for its
members and the public. The programming activities are not coordinated between
organizations and the Park.
4.3.2 Recommendations
At Petra, the programming will be coordinated and overseen by PAP staff, but it will not
necessarily be carried out by PAP. As much programming as possible will be done by
private organizations in coordination with PAP. This will serve several purposes. First,
it will provide economic opportunities to organizations and individuals in the community.
Second, it will reduce the burden on PAP, whose resources are limited.
The following are guidelines for successful programs:
• As much programming as possible should be done off-site. Such things as
reenactments, lectures, demonstrations, and markets should take place in the
neighboring communities. Facilities outside the Park can be provided that are
best suited for the presentation. Off-site activities cause less wear on the park.
Off-site activities also provide jobs and generate income for local communities.
• Programs should be offered that address each of the themes.
• As much programming as possible should be done by private organizations in
coordination with PAP.
• Programming opportunities to be fully developed include
o Tours based on specific topics (e.g. architecture or hydrology). The
tour content should be developed by PAP. The tours would be
conducted by tour guides.
o Tours to specific areas within PAP that receive much less visitation
than the Petra Sanctuary. These can include Beidha, Wadi Sabra,
Jabul Harun, and others. The recommendation is predicated on the
assumption that such tours would not lead to significant impacts on the
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 37

esources. To ensure that this is the case, an environmental assessment
may need to be conducted before implementation.
o Lecture series. A lecture series would appeal to those people who are
very interested in the site and are looking for an in-depth experience.
A lecture series would extend the stay of guests attending.
o Dig and excavation experience. Such an experience would be
organized by a non-profit organization under the supervision of PAP.
This option would offer the social components many visitors seek.
o Bedouin experience/ tent stay. One of the main attractions of
programs for the visitor is the interaction with the local community.
This option would offer an authentic experience to visitors unfamiliar
with Bedouin culture.
o Reenactments. Reenactments provide visitors a way to better visualize
the ancient experience.
o Markets. Markets will offer souvenirs and other products off-site.
The markets serve two purposes. First, they provide the vendors an
opportunity to sell items to visitors in a way that is non-aggressive and
in a traditional environment. Markets also offer visitors the
opportunity to interact with the local community.
4.4 Publications
Publications are a means to reach people at a variety of points along their journey to
Petra. They can serve to inform people considering a visit to Petra or explain the
experience upon reaching the Park. Publications can also be used as a follow-up to the
visit.
4.4.1 Existing Conditions
Two types of publications currently address Petra: those specifically for Petra and those
for an area greater than Petra, such as Jordan, but which include discussion of the site.
JTB publishes a visitor guide to Jordan, which includes information about Petra.
Once at the site, upon ticket purchase, visitors can request a brochure that provides a map
of the Sanctuary and interpretive information about points of interest. The brochure
informs the visitor of the locations of toilet facilities, beverage stands, and other visitor
services. It also provides visitors expectations for their visit, including estimated
difficulty, distance to sites, and the necessary time expected to reach the different sites. It
is available in Arabic and English.
4.4.2 Recommendations
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 38

PAP has so much to offer both first-time and returning visitors. As a result, a number of
publications are needed to help guide the visitor experience. All of these publications
will introduce or elaborate on the interpretive themes. They should also inform the
visitor of what can be expected, such as climate, terrain, and location of restrooms. The
publications described below can also be offered over the Internet. Publications can be
free or purchased, as appropriate.
• General brochures, including a map. The existing brochures will be updated.
Each individual or group will receive a free map showing locations of essential
visitor services. The brochure will be reviewed periodically and updated as
necessary.
• Plan your trip brochure. The visitor will look at this document before arriving at
Petra, and even before entering Jordan. The brochure will provide visitors with
information on what opportunities for exploration can be expected. It will also
include information on visitor services in the area, such as accommodation and
transportation. This brochure could be designed to make it suitable for mailing
upon request. It will be available at key tourist spots, such as the major hotels in
Amman and at Wadi Musa, and other tourist destinations throughout Jordan. This
brochure could also be a marketing tool for use by travel agencies. The
information contained in the brochure could also be produced on a CD.
• Site bulletins. These brochures provide more extensive information about
particular points of interest throughout PAP and can augment wayside exhibits.
• Specific tours and trails. These brochures outline the opportunities for more
extensive exploration, such as the trail to the High Place of Sacrifice. They
describe the experience and the points of interest, and include a map.
4.5 Visitor Center
The Visitor Center should serve a number of functions. It will prepare the visitor for the
experience to come, both in mindset and basic information. The Visitor Center will serve
as a transitional zone between the everyday world and the ancient world of Petra and will
provide basic information to experience the site safely, enjoyably, and sustainably.
Equally important, the Visitor Center should orient visitors to the site. It will identify
locations of major points of interest. It will show the visitor the locations of various
visitor services, such as toilets, refreshment, and food, and will indicate how to access
these facilities. The Visitor Center will inform visitors of what they can expect, including
warning them about the challenges of the park, such as terrain and climate. The Visitor
Center should also include information about first aid and emergency services.
4.5.1 Existing conditions
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 39

The existing Visitor Center offers little interpretation of the site to the visitor. There is an
aerial photograph of PAP, but no labels are provided to identify points of interest or trails
within the park. A small model also illustrates the site, including the topography, but
again, no labels are provided. Consequently, visitors are armed with little useful
information before their visit.
4.5.2 Recommendations
In order for a new or temporary Visitor Center to perform the functions above, several
changes need to be made. Exhibits at the Visitor Center will help provide an overview
and introduction to the park's resources and interpretive exhibits. Such displays will
focus on the major themes to be interpreted. In order to optimally address visitor needs,
these displays will be available for viewing both before and after visitors experience the
park.
The Visitor Center will house the museum shop. This store will sell unique items that are
especially chosen not to compete with businesses in the local communities. The store
will provide suitable and current publications and products that are authentic to the site
and that address the site’s most important elements and support its interpretive themes.
The museum shop will focus on upscale materials.
Interpretation at the Visitor Center should address wayfinding, information on how to
experience the park (such as transportation options, how to arrange for them, and the
necessity of taking water), and an introduction to the park's resources and interpretive
facilities focusing on the major themes to be interpreted. All of this could be available
both before and after the park visit. When applicable, the sale items offered at the shops
at the Visitor Center will support the interpretive themes of the park.
4.6 Petra Museum exhibits
4.6.1 Existing Conditions
Petra’s two museums, located at the Basin, showcase a variety of exhibits and artifacts
from the Park’s collection. Both museums are small and not easily found or noticed.
The Old Museum displays a selection of Nabataean terracotta pottery finds and a variety
of stone sculptures and architectural reliefs. Most have descriptions in Arabic and in
English.
The New Museum is larger and is located in a building that also houses the Crowne Plaza
restaurant. The New Museum displays a selection of Nabataean portable finds, including
pottery, bronze implements, jewelry, and coins, and a wide variety of larger works,
including stone statuary, architectural elements, and archaeological discoveries (including
a fragmentary mosaic floor and wall paintings) from Wadi Musa outside Petra.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 40

Figure 4.5.2: Site Plan of New Visitor Center
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 41

Figure 4.6.1: Exhibit at Old Museum
4.6.2 Recommendations
In order to take advantage of the museums found at the Basin, their content and exhibits
will be redesigned. Additionally, Nazzal’s Camp, not currently used for interpretation,
will be converted into a museum.
New Museum
This facility needs to be completely reinstalled with a thematic focus on the living city of
Petra as revealed by archaeological work over the past decades. Areas to be highlighted
include the Qasr al-Bint temple complex and Temenos Gate, the Temple of the Winged
Lions, the Great Temple precinct, the Petra Pool and Garden complex, and the Main
Theater. The New Museum should focus interpretively on these key areas, with up-todate
displays of key finds. Relief sculptures and small finds from the Old Museum will be
relocated here. The pebble mosaic floor and wall paintings from Wadi Musa that are
currently displayed here will be moved to a separate Museum facility in Wadi Musa.
Old Museum
This facility will be converted to a museum focused on the subject of Nabataean rock-cut
architecture at Petra. Doing so will provide the visitor with the experience of living in a
Nabataean rock-cut house as represented by this cave. The interior of the cavern-like
dwelling will be cleaned and emptied of existing casework, left in natural light, and
provided with lit interpretive panels or other graphic media that will allow the visitor to
explore the technical challenges and logistics of carving a sandstone rock face into a
tomb or residence.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 42

Nazzal’s Camp
This facility will be converted into a museum focusing on issues of conservation and
preservation at Petra. Displays could include interpretive exhibits focusing on
current preservation efforts at the site, e.g., stabilization of tomb facades; measures aimed
at safeguarding and minimizing the potential impact of flash flooding; and studies
exploring the negative impact of tourism on monuments at the site. The facility will also
display successful efforts at consolidation and conservation of individual finds at the site,
including interior stucco wall decoration, metalwork, and/or other fragile materials, such
as papyri, floor mosaics, and pottery.
4.7 Wayside exhibits
Wayside exhibits provide information about points of interest in the park. They also
serve as markers to let visitors know that they should pay attention to something in the
area.
4.7.1 Existing Conditions
Currently, there are 33 wayside
exhibits in Petra. Most of them are
composed of text only, in Arabic
and English, with few images on
the black metal surfaces. The
signs interpret significant
archaeological and natural features
of the site. Over 60 percent of
them are incorrectly oriented,
facing the wrong direction.
Figure 4.7.1: Example of Existing
Wayside Exhibit
4.7.2 Recommendations
Wayside exhibits for Petra need to be redesigned, reconfigured, and replaced. The first
action will be to determine which points of interest are appropriate for exhibits. The
following have been identified as points that would benefit from a wayside exhibit:
• Bab al-Siq
• Djinn Block
• Obelisk Tomb and Bab al-Siq Triclinium
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 43

• Modern Barrage Dam
• Camel Caravan
• Al-Khazna
• Siq
• Street of the Facades
• Theater
• Royal Tombs
• Urn Tomb
• Nymphaeum
• Colonnaded Street
• Petra Pool and Garden Complex
• The Great Temple Complex
• Temenos Gate
• Qasr al-Bint Temple Precinct
• Unfinished Tomb
• Temple of Winged Lions
• Petra Church, Blue Chapel, and Ridge Church
• Turkmaniyya Tombs
• Anjar Quarry
• Stately Residence at ez-Zantur Hill
• Ad-Dayr
• Wueira Fortress
The wayside exhibits will convey what makes the point of interest special and how it
functions contextually at the site. The following are guidelines to develop the wayside
exhibits.
• Limit the content. Care needs to be taken to provide appropriately worded text
and associated images that help the visitor understand the basic meaning and
significance of these monuments without creating the potential for a bottleneck of
visitors lingering to read extended text.
More detailed information will be provided via mobile media. Ultimately, these
will be listening devices similar to those used in modern museum settings.
Initially, they can be bulletins keyed to numbers on the wayside exhibits.
Guides will be provided with more detailed information that they can incorporate
it into their oral presentations.
The oral presentations provided in guided tours and the mobile interpretive media
should be thought of as being complementary. Different people respond to
different sorts of presentation (e.g., written or oral) differently, and one can
reinforce the other. Guides can also answer questions and provide other sorts of
interesting information. For example, while wayside exhibits will probably
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 44

present information as organized by scientists and historians, guides might
provide oral histories associated with the feature in question.
• Use concise wording. Due to space limitations of the signs, wording on wayside
exhibits must be concise. Text will be augmented by relevant illustrations that
will help explain the landmark’s form and context. The illustrations can be used to
locate the point of interest both temporally and spatially, and to illustrate
important aspects of its design and construction. These can be from both elevation
and plan perspectives. Also, carefully selected old photos, drawings, and
paintings, as well as line drawings produced by careful study of the structure by
experts can be used to show how the point of interest might have appeared in
antiquity, or at least at a time before it had deteriorated to its current condition.
For example, a drawing of the archway over the entrance to the Siq is appropriate,
as it illustrates how the entrance looked two hundred years ago. It also
encourages the viewer to look for remains of the arch.
• Provide Arabic and English translations. It is impractical to provide
translations in all of the languages used by visitors to Petra. Therefore, the text of
the wayside exhibits will be limited to English and Arabic. The language used
will also be simple, easily understood by people for whom Arabic or English is
not their first language. This will encourage people to read and understand the
signs, but will also encourage them to move at a pace that will allow many
visitors to access the signs. More detailed information will be made available
through site bulletins and digital media.
• Make content consistent with themes. The signs will be consistent with the
interpretive themes. Whenever appropriate, the message of conservation will be
promoted.
• Make signs resistant to damage. The signs will be made of sturdy materials that
are easy to maintain. Easy maintenance includes being able to withstand graffiti.
Replacement costs will be minimal. For specific design and content examples,
reference Appendices B and C.
The Director of Antiquities and the PAP Director will have the opportunity to review the
sign text. Each should sign off before fabrication in order to ensure that information
provided is consistent and accurate.
4.8 Trails beyond the Sanctuary
Tours and trails offer visitors in depth experiences that go beyond the Sanctuary. Based
on 2004 informal surveys, approximately 60 percent of visitors stay in the Sanctuary.
Furthermore, 40 percent of visitors only reach Al-Khazna before turning back to the main
entrance. Many of these people arrive at Petra as part of a day-trip or they only stay one
night. Secondary and tertiary trails beyond the Sanctuary and the trail from the entrance
to the Basin area offer an opportunity for more in-depth exploration by visitors.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 45

4.8.1 Existing Conditions
The secondary and tertiary trails beyond the Sanctuary are generally open to visitors.
However, there is little guidance available on-site to help visitors. The trails are not well
marked. Maps and brochures about Petra do not clearly show the trails. Visitors may be
able to obtain guides for the site, but nothing is clearly marked about such tours at the
entrance to the site. Many of the visitors using these trails use travel guidebooks, such as
Lonely Planet, to navigate these rugged trails.
4.8.2 Recommendations
In order to lengthen the amount of time people spend at Petra, and therefore the amount
of money they spend in the local community, PAP will offer trail experiences outside of
the Sanctuary area. Visitors who choose to enjoy these experiences will spend more time
in Petra, thereby learning more about the importance of the site.
Providing additional trail experiences to these more remote locations can be
accomplished in two complementary ways. The first is to provide visitors with enough
information to explore these trails independently.
Printed Trail Guides
Printed trail guides for each trail will be available on the website and at the Visitor
Center. The visitor will follow the map along the trail, viewing the archaeological sites
as he or she passes them. Although the trail guides will mention the potential hazards
associated with the trails, the cultural aspects should be highlighted. A printed trail guide
for the trails will include the following:
• Map of the trail. This map will clearly show the path for the visitor. The map
will also indicate the location of toilets and refreshments available. The map will
show the locations of points of interest along the trail.
• Points of interest. As mentioned above, the map will indicate where the points
of interest are located. Additionally, the trail guides will provide brief
explanations of these points, as there will be no wayside signs installed in these
areas. The explanations will include information about what makes the point of
interest special and how it fits into the context of Petra as it functioned in the
ancient world.
• Warnings. The trail guides need to convey to the visitor the challenges of the
landscape. Many of the more remote trails are steep and on difficult terrain.
Trails may not always be clearly marked. Also, the weather can be extreme at
times. Trail guides will prepare visitors for this, telling them to bring sunscreen,
hats, and adequate amounts of water as needed.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 46

• Rules of the trail. One of the challenges of remote locations is that visitors often
feel less inhibited about exploring places from which they are prohibited. The
trail guides will carry the same consistent conservation message as other materials
distributed.
For examples of printed trail guides, refer to Appendix D.
Guide Services
Another way to approach
interpretation of the secondary
trails is to use guide services. The
guides will direct visitors along the
paths, identifying and interpreting
points of interest. One of the great
advantages of this approach is that
guides essentially act as monitors
of visitor behavior. Because the
sites are remote, visitors may feel
as if the rules of behavior are less
important or that they are less
likely to be seen if they break a
rule, such as exploring tombs.
With a guide, visitors are more
likely to follow the rules and act in
an appropriate manner.
Figure 4.8.2: Park visitors along Back
Country Trails
Offering guide services for secondary trails also provides the personal experience in
which many visitors are interested. Guides offer a chance to hear a unique perspective
and an opportunity for visitors to have their questions answered. Additionally, many
visitors enjoy interaction with people from the local communities, from which many of
the guides come. Visitors also provide another possible income source for guides.
The tours and trails will be consistent with the interpretive themes.
4.9 Web site design, development, and maintenance
The visitor experience begins before anyone steps foot inside PAP. Instead, it actually
begins when the visitor begins to gather information about his or her visit. The
information can come from brochures, word of mouth, or, increasingly, the Internet.
Websites can be and in the future, increasingly will be, the first contact a visitor has with
Petra. They are important ways to communicate with the visitor and introduce him or her
to Petra.
Websites are also cost-effective ways to provide a great deal of information. They do not
require extensive printings or postage. Because they are dynamic, websites can be easily
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 47

updated to reflect the most recent information. This is in contrast to printed materials,
which cannot be changed once printed.
Websites are also used by people after their visit to PAP. They may want to review what
they have seen or want more information on a particular point. Also, they may be
interested in future trips or in accessing information for future trips. Additionally, some
visitors will want to know what they can do to help preserve the resources at Petra once
they have returned home.
4.9.1 Existing Conditions
Petra does not have a website devoted to the Park or tourism related to the Park. JTB
operates a website related to tourism in Jordan. The website does an excellent job of
orienting the visitor to Jordan and providing a lot of information related to visiting the
country. The information related to Petra is sparser, with little logistical information,
such as about cost of entrance and services available. The JTB website lists the
accommodations to be found in Wadi Musa and several tour operators with trips to Petra.
4.9.2 Recommendations
Several pieces of information will appear on the Petra-specific website, in Arabic and
English at a minimum. The website will be reviewed at least monthly, to make sure that
the information posted is accurate and up-to-date. Efforts should be made to post new
activities and other information on the website in a timely way. The following is a list of
items that will appear on the website and will help prepare visitors for a trip to PAP:
• Location. The website will show the location of Petra in relation to Jordan and
to the world. Distances from various locations, such as Amman and other tourist
hubs, will be shown.
Additionally, the website will describe how people can reach Petra. For instance,
visitors can arrive via an organized tour or public bus, or they can drive
independently. These options should be outlined. Also, in the descriptions of
public transportation or private conveyance, directions to the site should be
provided.
• What visitors should expect. One of the purposes of the website is to manage
visitors’ expectations. This means that the website needs to make people aware
of both the attractions and challenges of visiting the site. The attractions include
the archaeological resources, the cultural experience of PAP and the neighboring
communities, and the natural red rock environment of the park and region. The
website will introduce images to the visitor and will explain their significance.
The website will also include lists of activities and experiences available to
visitors, both within and outside of the park.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 48

The website will alert visitors to what will be necessary to experience various
parts of PAP. Visitors will be made aware that terrain may be challenging in
some areas and that all trails are not appropriate for all visitors. Also, visitors will
learn that carriage rides are available to reach Al-Khazna for those physically
unable to make the trek otherwise. Visitors will learn about weather conditions.
The summer heat can take its toll on visitors, causing some challenges to those
particularly sensitive to heat and sun. Preventive measures will be suggested to
viewers in order to address such challenges.
• Introduction to interpretive themes. As part of the introduction process, the
website will suggest to visitors the interpretive themes of PAP. These themes
can be reinforced by repeating them at every opportunity.
• Points of interest within the park. The website will provide images and a brief
description of the main points of interest. Additionally, a park map will be
available on the website to allow for planning a visit. Although many resources
and features “sell” PAP to the public, the main attraction remains the incredible
archaeological resources of the site.
• Rules of behavior. Visitors will be made aware of the rules, and the reasoning
behind them, from their first contact with Petra, which will be, in many cases, the
website. As mentioned previously, visitation is one of the threats facing Petra.
Because it is a popular destination, it is important that visitors treat the site
respectfully and act as stewards of the site.
• Prices of admission. In order for people to effectively plan their trip, they must
know what to expect from PAP. An important element of that is to know what
services are available to visitors and the price of admission. As discussed in
Section 1.9, the chaotic ticketing process and unclear fee structure are issues
affecting interpretation at PAP. Providing the admission information on the
website, along with the services available and their price structure, will help
prepare visitors and will smooth the ticketing process.
• Description of services and activities available. The website will describe the
services that are available to visitors in and around PAP. The types of tours
offered will be listed. The description of services available would include any
specialized topics and the guided Back Country tours. Any special programs that
are offered will also be described on the website, as well as off-site opportunities.
• Maps. Maps are an important element in educating visitors and providing him or
her with the information they need for a successful visit. Maps will orient
visitors to PAP, including the park itself and the surrounding area. The maps
will be downloadable, making them easy for people to print.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 49

• Links to nearby points of interest. One way to encourage longer stays in the
Petra region is to market Petra with other nearby important cultural sites.
Linking Petra to other tourist draws within Jordan will persuade visitors to spend
more time in the area exploring other sites. In addition to encouraging the
visitors to spend more money during a lengthier stay, providing links to nearby
points of interest will also promote a better understanding of the region and other
cultural sites located within it. The PAP website will link to other websites as
appropriate.
• Downloadable media, such as podcasts, for users in preparation of their
visit. Over the past several years, new media have become available to many
more people. Downloads, in particular, will provide the ability for people
visiting the Petra website to take with them information about the site.
Downloadable information can also help people make decisions about visiting
Petra. For instance, if an audio tour is downloadable onto electronic media from
home, a potential visitor may become interested in visiting the site in person by
listening to the tour.
4.10 Audio-visual media
Audio-visual media and services offer a unique opportunity to offer visitors information
in a way that expands upon what is readily available to them at the site. Such
presentations can explain Petra more quickly and in a more engaging manner than written
material.
4.10.1 Existing conditions
There are no audio-visual media available at Petra at this time. There are interpretive
wands available at the five-star hotels, where visitors can rent them. These interpretive
devices are not widely publicized or used. The content, which was developed
independently, has not been coordinated with PAP.
4.10.2 Recommendations
Audio-visual devices can be used in a variety of ways. For instance, a film to play at the
Visitor Center is an appropriate vehicle to introduce visitors to Petra. Individual screens
can be used as parts of exhibits in the Visitor Center and the museums. Electronic
devices, including mobile phones and digital music players (i-pod, mp3, etc.), can be
used for an audio tour. The following are guidelines to consider when developing audiovisual
exhibits and content:
• Easy to maintain. Maintenance can be a challenge for electronic media displays.
Visitors become discouraged when an exhibit or presentation is unavailable
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 50

ecause the screen in front of them is not functioning. Any such media, once
installed, must require minimal expertise and time to repair if problems arise.
Additionally, some content or messages may change over time. To keep
information current, updates will be easily loadable to the systems.
• Easy to operate. Electronic media must be simple enough that people who have
limited experience with such systems can use them. Accordingly, media might
include a touch screen and very simple directions.
• Widely available media. For audio tours, one possibility is the use of mobile
phones to download and then play information about points of interest throughout
Petra. However, because Petra draws people from around the world, not
everybody traveling to the region has a mobile phone. Alternatives, such as
downloadable messages on digital music players, will also be considered.
• Consistent with the interpretive themes. It is important that the information
conveyed through the use of electronic media is consistent with the themes
described in Section 2.0.
• Backed-up by non-electronic media. Materials requiring limited technology,
such as brochures, must be easily available in case the electronic media are
unavailable.
4.11 Educational programs
Petra is a place of exploration and discovery, especially for younger visitors. As such,
PAP poses a unique opportunity for visiting school groups as an extension of the
classroom. The park illustrates many principles and subjects regularly covered in
schools: social sciences, such as history, geography, and sociology; sciences, such as
geology, chemistry, and climate; art; and math, including geometry and physics.
Conversely, the classroom can serve as an extension of the park by incorporating the
interpretive themes into curricula and studies. This is especially important for instilling a
sense of stewardship in the students.
4.11.1 Existing conditions
One of the most frequent classes of visitors to Petra is school groups. At this time, there
is no program or tour devoted specifically to students. There is also no existing
curriculum to incorporate Petra into the study of a variety of subjects or for the site itself.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 51

4.11.2 Recommendations
The educational components developed need to work as stand-alone modules for
different needs, as well as provide a comprehensive experience for students who study
Petra in the classroom and visit the site. Ideally, a curriculum would prepare students in
the classroom for their visit to Petra, which would be followed by a visit to the Park and
further study upon return. However, many students who visit PAP will not use the preand
post-arrival curriculum. Other students will only use the in-classroom materials and
never come to PAP.
Field Trips
School groups make up a significant portion of the visiting population. Petra
Archaeological Park will create programs targeted specifically to these groups. Programs
will tell the story of Petra, incorporating the history and natural environment of the Park.
The programs will be consistent and complement in-classroom materials developed, but
will also function as stand-alone modules. In addition to an overall program, modules
will be created that last approximately one hour. Activities should be hands-on and as
interactive as possible.
As part of the field trip program, materials will be developed for teachers to prepare
students for their visit and to review after students visit the Park. Again, these will be
consistent with the interpretive themes and focus on aspects of the take-away messages.
For example, materials might ask students to compare their daily lives today to those of
the Nabataeans.
Classroom Curriculum
Teaching materials and programs will be developed for use in classrooms. Petra holds
lessons from thousands of years ago that can be applied in today’s world. The subjects
discussed above will be incorporated into the curriculum. The classroom curriculum
should include the following:
• A summary of the Petra site. This will provide the basic history of Petra.
• Objectives that should be learned by the students. This is the most important
information that students should know and understand by the completion of the
module. In addition to conveying messages, the materials can be used to
supplement other knowledge, such as math and science studies.
• Materials to support the objectives. These are the materials students will need
in order to complete the activities. These might include maps, readings,
photographs and drawings.
• Recommended activities. Activities will provide a hands-on experience for
students while they learn about various subjects and how they relate to Petra. For
instance, students could produce their own material for interpretation of Petra,
including a brochure or an audio guide.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 52

• Discussion points. Class participation and talking about Petra are important to
help students understand the site’s significance and how it relates to other
subjects. The discussion points will help guide teachers in helping students learn.
• Vocabulary list. The study of Petra may introduce new words to students. A
vocabulary list will help prepare students for discussions.
The materials will complement the modules for field trips discussed above. In order for
them to be most effective, the materials should be created in concert with the
requirements of the Jordanian school system.
5.0 Visitor Services
The Visitor Services section addresses the services needed by a visitor to PAP and those
services provided within PAP. They are not always one and the same. In some cases,
services that do not add to the visitor experience are provided at this time. As many
services as possible should be provided outside of the park, keeping only those necessary
for the visitor. These issues are addressed in-depth in Volume II: Off-Site Services and
Volume III: Visitor Services Plan.
5.1 Visitor Flow Based on 1996 Carrying Capacity
5.1.1 Existing conditions
According to the JTB, 581,145 people visited PAP in 2007. This number is expected to
increase in coming years due to the designation of Petra as one of the New Seven
Wonders of the World.
Distribution of Visitor Use
Visitation patterns to Petra include two high-use times of the year, beginning with the
period from April to June and then in November, and December. The busiest days of the
week are Thursday and Friday. The average duration of stay in Wadi Musa is 1.8 days,
indicating that one trip into the Petra Sanctuary is the average (JTB 2007).
Types of Visitors
There are two basic types of visitors who come to Petra. The first type comes in
organized tours, generally by bus. The other comes individually or in small groups
(Siyaha 2007). These two types of visitors have very different use patterns, which may
have significant implications when evaluating specific management strategies.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 53

Organized Tours
Based on PAP staff observations, visitors in organized tours make up 70% of all visitors
to Petra. They come primarily in buses and tend to be foreigners, older (50+ years) than
other visitors, and less physically fit. They travel with the group and very rarely explore
the site away from the group. Guides are with such groups at all times when in the Petra
Sanctuary. The guide provides information at designated spots and sets the pace for the
visit. The groups usually stay in the main visitor-use corridor along the wadi (river bed
or valley) and frequently only get as far as the Theater. This may be because the guides
do not go any farther. It may also be because of their physical fitness and the strenuous
nature of the hike into the Sanctuary. The average stay in the Sanctuary is approximately
three hours. Visitors travel into the Sanctuary only once, although their time in the area
generally includes an overnight stay in a hotel. This class of visitors tends to have more
money and use the better hotels in the area.
Individuals and Small Groups of Visitors
Individuals, families, and small groups comprise about 20% of all visitors to Petra.
These visitors may be Jordanians or foreigners. From limited observations, it appears
that young people, 20–30 years of age, make up the largest number in this group. These
visitors are generally physically fit. They may travel with a guide or only with a
guidebook. They use all zones within the Sanctuary and frequently stay two or more
days. They tend to stay in the Sanctuary four or more hours on the average. They do not
tend to have a high level of funds available.
Controlling and limiting factors are those that relate directly or indirectly to how the
Sanctuary is used. Some of these factors may change over time while others are fixed.
For example, the physical configurations of the Sanctuary in general and at key locations
are fixed, while visitor profiles and use patterns may change over time.
A review of the 1996 Carrying Capacity Analysis (CCA) indicates that the zoning and
monitoring methods described in the document would still be an appropriate way to
manage visitors to PAP. The CCA provided the following summary of the carrying
capacity of PAP.
Mgmt System
Present
System, only
entering and
leaving
through the
Siq
Table 4.1.1: Comparison of Two Management Systems
Hourly Daily Monthly Annual Mgmt Concerns
Maximum Maximum Maximum Maximum
people/hr people/day people/month people/yr
400-600 2000-3000 60,000 to
90,000
730,000 -
1.1 million
During individual
days in the high
use season, Petra
may be exceeding
its capacity now
Second 575-860 2900-4300 87,000 to 1.1 million Would not be able
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 54

Entrance,
using the Siq
and
Turkmaniyya
Road
129,000 to 1.6
million
to manage
without
coordinate
management
system
Note: The high and low figures in each cell are based upon calculations in which groups of 200 people at
one time (PAOT) are the maximum number that can occupy the Al-Khazna area, and they are on a
schedule of either two or three periods of maximum PAOT per hour. For the Second Entrance scenario,
the ratio of 7/3 (Siq vs. At-Turkmaniyya Road) entrances to the Petra Sanctuary was used in calculations
(see discussion above).
Al-Khazna is the Controlling Feature for Carrying Capacity
At present, there is only one way into and out of the Petra Sanctuary for visitors. They
must hike in and out via the Siq. If they travel to the Basin Zone, they must hike 4.07
kilometers one way, making a hike of over eight kilometers for the round trip, even if
they don't travel off the path to visit attractions such as the Petra Church, the Great
Temple, or the Royal Tombs.
The topography and attraction of the spectacular monument known as Al-Khazna at the
end of the Siq make this area the controlling topographical feature of the site. It is best
viewed within the company of smaller numbers of people. Certainly, when more than
300 people are in the confined area of Al-Khazna, most visitors will be all too aware of
the presence of others, and less able to contemplate this masterpiece of Hellenistic
architecture. Allowing visitors to circulate through the Basin Zone, up Turkmaniyya
Road, and then via shuttles back to Wadi Musa would cut in half the numbers of people
passing through the confined space where Al-Khazna is located. Since most visitors will
not stay in the vicinity of Al-Khazna more than 15 minutes, the desired number of people
at one time (PAOT) there, less than 300, would almost always be attainable.
Based on recent data collected in October and November 2007, the highest numbers of
people arrive at Al-Khazna between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m., with approximately 325 visitors
per hour. This is well within the carrying capacity of 400–600 people per hour, although
visitation during peak seasons may be higher.
It must be noted that the existing management practices do not equip PAP to effectively
provide adequate visitor services even at much lower levels of visitation.
5.1.2 Recommendations
Tourist congestion can be alleviated in a number of ways. A comprehensive approach
would incorporate one or more of these methods.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 55

5.1.2.1 Open Turkmaniyya Road
With effective management, PAP can accommodate up to 1.1 million visitors. If an exit
via Turkmaniyya Road is established, PAP can accommodate up to 1.6 million visitors.
For more information about transportation, please refer to Volume II: Off-Site
Interpretation. Turkmaniyya Road should also be opened as an entrance to visitors with a
multiple-day ticket. Those visiting Ad-Dayr and other sites in that area would no longer
be required to enter via the Siq and Al-Khazna, further reducing the traffic along the
Sanctuary.
5.1.2.2 Monitoring
Although the general number of visitors is available, establishing a monitoring program
would identify accurately the number of visitors to the site over a number of time
periods: hourly, daily, monthly, and annually. Specific points along the spine (Dam, Al-
Khazna, Theater, Petra Church, Ad-Dayr, and exit at Turkmaniyya Road) should be
monitored, establishing a baseline of the numbers of people at one time (PAOT). These
figures can determine if any additional measures are needed to control visitor entrance.
The 1996 Carrying Capacity Analysis established 200 PAOT per hour at Al-Khazna as
the standard, with an hourly capacity of 400–600 visitors per hour.
5.1.2.3 Dispersing visitors
Another way to reduce the number of people at specific points of interest along the spine
of the Sanctuary is to provide other ways to disperse visitors. The new visitor center,
once completed, will have a museum component. A visitor could delay entry to the park
by up to two hours. A gift shop selling high-quality items would also delay entry to the
site, thereby dispersing entry times.
Opening other trails to individual visitors is not an appropriate way to disperse activity
away from the Sanctuary. The spine will be the main activity for most first-time visitors.
Offering other trails would not alter that fact. Even more important, other trails are not
appropriate for many visitors without a guide due to the terrain and the increased
likelihood of unauthorized activities. Visitors should be encouraged to use the services of
a guide. Such guided experiences would encourage overnight visitor stays, which could
induce visitors to arrive at Petra earlier or later than they would otherwise, easing
pressure on the Sanctuary at peak hours. For visitors not interested in the services of a
guide, they should be provided brochures with maps to guide them along the secondary
trails. For more detailed information, refer to Section 4.4 Trails.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 56

5.1.2.4 Ticketing
If, after instituting a monitoring program and opening Turkmaniyya Road, it is
determined that the capacity of Petra is exceeded, a timed ticketing system should be
considered. At that time, a comprehensive review of the range of options should take
place. The timing would be designed to allow no more visitors than recommended by the
hourly and daily maximums in the CCA described above. One possible method is to
establish entry times on the ticket, thereby setting up an appointment for entrance.
Additionally, if such a system were adopted, tickets should be sold over the Internet. In a
timed ticket system, this would allow visitors to better plan their trip. For instance, if
their ticket is for the early morning or later in the afternoon, visitors may want to stay
overnight because of convenience when they would not have done so otherwise.
At the time a ticketing strategy is developed, consideration will be given to whether
guides and horses are automatically included as a standard for groups.
5.2 Location of Visitor Services
One important aspect of park management is providing necessary visitor services.
Visitors want an experience that transports them to another place and time. Facilities
should provide appropriate information and services in an environment that is compatible
with this wish.
5.2.1 Existing conditions
Visitor services and facilities are located throughout PAP. The ticketing area at the
visitor center is confusing. Many of the interpretive signs face in the wrong direction.
Benches are found throughout the park. In addition, a number of toilets are found beyond
the Siq. Frequently, the toilets do not blend with their surroundings and are not properly
maintained.
Vending of souvenirs, drinks, postcards, books, clothing, and food has proliferated far
beyond the 15 locations that were originally designated as places for limited vending
facilities in 1997, a designation that even then was more ad hoc than formal. At present,
there are 79 locations where vending takes place. Maps 4 through 13 show existing
locations of various visitor facilities, including vending locations.
5.2.2 Recommendations
Facilities should be designed to blend in with the landscape and the neighboring
communities. Factors for design include color, line, texture, and materials. Facilities
should also be located in areas that enhance, rather than detract from, the visitor
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 57

experience. Consideration should be given to landform, vegetation, color, adjacent
scenery, and cultural modification. The criteria for locating specific visitor services are
described below.
Ticketing: Ticketing is to take place at the visitor center. Separate check-in points need
to be available for individuals and tour group leaders. Tickets should be checked at both
the front entrance and the Turkmaniyya Road entrance. Ticketing should facilitate
collection of demographic data. Exactly what services have been purchased are to be
printed directly on the ticket.
Toilets: Locate toilets out of the viewshed of significant features and space them
reasonable and relatively equal distances apart. In the case where water tanks are
necessary for the toilets to operate, place stands for the water behind the toilets, shielding
the tanks from view. The stand needs to be high enough to ensure proper operation.
Toilets should be considered for location at activity centers and at points where beverages
are sold. They should provide an adequate number of fixtures to meet visitor demand.
Refreshments: Locate refreshment kiosks out of viewshed of significant features. They
should be spaced reasonable distances apart and at natural stopping points for the visitor.
Restaurants and food: Continue to operate the two restaurants at their existing locations.
Trash cans: Locate trash cans next to benches, and at activity centers, beverage sales
points, and unobtrusive points along the trails. The trash cans should be at locations
where visitors generate refuse. For example, visitors will have finished their beverages
by the time they get to the Bab al-Siq, and therefore need trash cans along that route to
dispose of the empty bottles and cans.
Shade shelters: Locate shade shelters at activity nodes and should include benches for
seating.
Wayfinding signs: Install wayfinding signs that will help visitors find their way to points
of interest at trailheads, at trail intersections, and at other decision points throughout the
Park.
Interpretive signs: Locate wayside exhibits at specific points in relation to a unique
subject that warrants highlighting. They should be located in unobtrusive locations and
should be located so that the reader is facing the point of interest. Special care should be
taken to not obstruct the view from prime visitor view points.
Minimize the number of signs placed on-site. A site bulletin (such as at the Siq
and the City Center) should be prepared for special areas. Eventually, these
should be replaced by park-wide use of electronic media, such as prerecorded
messages on a wand or mobile telephones.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 58

Maps 14-24 illustrate the location of visitor services in each management zone. In the
case of trash cans, where the number recommended is less than the number that has been
ordered, the additional trash cans can be stored at the new/temporary visitor center and
used to replace damaged trash cans, or can be installed at other points within the park
using the criteria listed above.
In addition to the locations of the visitor services, care should be given to the type of
visitor services provided. In cases where improvements are made, an environmental
assessment should be conducted. This decision-making document offers a method to
develop alternatives and evaluate their appropriateness for PAP. The process for such a
document is described in Section 4.6.2.2 Park Maintenance and Improvement Activities.
5.3 Visitor Services Maintenance
5.3.1 Existing conditions
Numerous visitor services facilities are currently located within PAP. These include
trashcans and bins, benches, interpretive signs, restaurants, sales kiosks, and toilets. The
management and maintenance of the facilities are substandard. The trashcans and bins
are frequently full, precluding visitors from disposing of trash properly. Interpretive
signs frequently face the wrong direction or are incorrectly placed. The restaurants do
not meet health standards. Sales kiosks are often illegally placed, and refuse is frequently
present around the kiosks.
Toilets are particularly problematic. The vaults are pumped after they are full, rather than
pumped on a regular basis to prevent overflow. Many of the toilet facilities are dirty. In
some cases, the toilets are broken.
5.3.2 Recommendations
The visitor services facilities described above must meet basic standards of function and
provide a satisfactory visitor experience. The table below describes the facility, the
standard by which conditions should be measured, and strategies to meet these standards.
Table 5.4.2: Maintenance Standards
Facilities Standard Strategy
Trash cans and bins Space available for
visitor trash; cans in
good condition (not
broken).
Revise maintenance contract to
require emptying of trash bins at
least one additional time during
peak hours (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
Require vendors to remove their
own trash, i.e., do not allow them
to use trash bins.
Benches No graffiti and in Park employees should examine
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 59

Facilities Standard Strategy
good condition. all the benches at least once per
week. If graffiti appears, use
appropriate solvents or other
removal techniques. If broken,
repair or replace as needed.
Signs
No graffiti and in
good condition.
Park employees should examine
all signs at least once per week. If
graffiti appears, use appropriate
solvents or other removal
techniques. If broken, repair or
Toilets
Restaurants
Sales kiosks
Clean and
functional.
Clean with good
service and safe
food preparation.
Clean and in good
condition.
replace as needed.
Pump all toilet vaults and supply
necessary water for system
nightly. Park staff should clean
toilet facilities twice daily during
peak hours. Restrooms should be
monitored hourly to determine if
toilets are operational and if
cleaning schedule is adequate.
Each restroom should have a
checklist ensuring that the
inspections have taken place. If
the toilet facilities regularly do not
function, the next step would be to
evaluate the system and seek
alternative solutions.
Provide training on food
preparation and visitor interaction.
Working with Siyaha, develop
more specific standards for service
and food preparation. Inspect
periodically to determine if these
standards have been met.
Park employees should examine
all the shade structures and kiosks
at least once per week. If graffiti
appears, use appropriate solvents
or other removal techniques. If
broken, repair as needed.
All trash and sales items should be
inside sales kiosk.
Trails Clean and safe. Require vendors to clean up
animal waste. This should be in
the vendor agreement.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 60

In addition to these ongoing tasks, remove the Tourist Police kiosks. The police should
be redeployed as a roaming presence. The Tourist Police should go through a training
program to help them communicate with visitors and address visitor concerns.
Hire park rangers to provide visitor services and enforcement activities. Such rangers
could aid in the interpretation of the site, answer visitor questions, and enforce the rules
of the park. To the extent possible, local community members should be given
preference in hiring. Local community members have the advantage of already being
familiar with the area. In addition, hiring from the community helps engender support of
PAP.
5.4 Trails
5.4.1 Existing conditions
The trails discussed in this section are the pathways that are beyond the spine of the
Sanctuary. Two trails found in the Back Country and Near Country zones, the path from
the Basin to Ad-Dayr and the path to the Royal Tombs, do not have as difficult terrain as
others, so they are appropriate for visitors to explore independently. The other trails,
however, are rugged and steep, making them highly problematic for independent
exploration. Additionally, there are many opportunities for visitor to wander into areas
from which safe exits are problematic. Improper behavior is more likely to occur when
visitors are in isolated areas. When visitors leave the spine of the Petra core area, they are
often approached by people selling antiquities. Also, people traversing a landscape alone
are more likely to use the tombs as bathrooms.
5.4.2 Recommendations
While allowing for them to
be accessed independently,
encourage visitors to use a
guide for the following
trails: Umm-Al-Biyara,
Al-Kubtha, Al-Madras, and
High Place trails. The use
of a guide provides a
chance for small groups to
interact with locals who are
intimately familiar with the
area and can provide
information that visitors
inevitably find fascinating.
For example, guides may
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 61
Figure 5.5.2: Steep Terrain Characteristic of
Trails

describe use of plants for medicinal purposes or provide insights into the traditional uses
of the area. Just as important, guide services will provide an income stream to replace
some of the income lost by the removal of vendors from the park. Providing additional
trail experiences will also encourage visitors to extend their stay in the Petra area.
For those visitors approaching the secondary trails without a guide, develop brochures to
familiarize visitors with the trails. Points of interest should be discussed. The brochures
should have maps that show visitors services as well as trails. A general description of
conditions, such as the terrain, should also be included.
The brochures should also address the possibility that all trails may not be adequately
marked. Due to the changing and harsh conditions of the desert, trail markers may fade,
be knocked down, or otherwise removed. The visitor should be made aware that while
PAP makes an effort to adequately sign the trails, the conditions may not allow for signs
at all points.
Site monitoring for sites along these trails is particularly important. Cultural resources
are generally more susceptible than are natural resources to irreversible damage by the
actions of one or only a few individuals. Sites should be checked regularly to determine
any degradation of resources. If this becomes the case, actions should be taken to protect
resources.
If, in the future, the secondary trails system is expanded, the entire system should be
evaluated as part of an environmental assessment. This is important due to the damage
that can be caused by visitors. The potential degradation of resources due to visitors
touching by visitors; using tombs as toilets; buying antiquities; or disturbing artifacts
should be thoroughly evaluated before more visitor traffic in the tertiary trails is
encouraged.
5.5 Conservation
5.5.1 Existing conditions
Conservation of the cultural resources within PAP is of the utmost importance. Without
these resources, any services provided for the visitor are without value. Degradation of
the resources comes from several potential sources: visitor activities, park maintenance
and improvement activities, animals, and natural causes. The particular concerns are
described below.
• Visitors who are not educated touch the sandstone formations, adding to the
erosion. Over time, this can have a big impact. Additionally, visitors often do not
abide the warnings and climb over barriers. These harmful practices are often not
stopped by Park staff. At the Theater, visitors have accessed areas that are
prohibited.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 62

• Park maintenance and improvement activities, such as installing visitor facilities,
can degrade resources if not done properly. Other activities, such as developing a
shuttle system that would run inside the park, could have unintended
environmental consequences that could degrade the resources.
• Animals in the park can be harmful to the archaeology found on-site. The hooves
are eroding the original sandstone steps leading to Ad-Dayr. Many animals are
tied to fences, which are then torn by the animals, leaving the areas open to access
by visitors.
• Natural causes also degrade cultural resources. Wind and water cause erosion of
the rock formations and cultural resources.
5.5.2 Recommendations
5.5.2.1 Education of visitors
Several actions should be taken. First, an education component should be added to all
interpretive activities in PAP. For example, visitors who touch the carvings largely do so
without understanding the consequences. By informing the visitor of the impacts of
touching even one of the carvings, the visitor will be a partner in conservation. Such a
message would be repeated on interpretive signs, tour guides, informational signs,
warning signs, brochures, websites, etc. Education would also be extended to tour
guides. Visitors should also be advised and encouraged to dispose of their waste only in
trash receptacles.
The conservation message should be included with the official Petra website. This
would prepare the visitor for his or her visit.
The existing Petra Archaeological Park brochure, which provides a map of the Sanctuary
and interpretive materials, should be updated to reflect the locations of new facilities and
should carry conservation messages.
5.5.2.2 Park maintenance and improvement activities
In order to address park maintenance and improvement activities, several actions should
be taken. First, when an action has been identified, a review should take place using the
following protocols.
Protocols for Review
1. Once a proposed action has been identified that might lead to an impairment of
the park’s resources or values, PAP staff will prepare a preliminary draft
environmental assessment to evaluate the impacts of the proposed action.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 63

2. The draft environmental assessment is then sent to the PAP Council for review
and comment.
3. The Director General, Department of Antiquities (DOA) reviews the preliminary
draft and provides comments to the park director.
4. The preliminary draft is reviewed to incorporate the comments of the Director
General.
5. The preliminary draft is then reviewed by the Minister, Ministry of Tourism and
Antiquities (MOTA) and appropriate staff.
6. A draft environmental assessment is then prepared and sent to the stakeholders:
Petra Regional Authority (PRA), Governor of Ma’an, Governor of Wadi Musa,
local community groups, Petra National Trust and non-government organizations
(FoA and House of Nabataeans), and other entities deemed appropriate.
7. Meetings are held with the stakeholders to gain their insights and comments.
8. Input from the general public is sought by publishing a notice of availability of
the draft environmental assessment and providing a copy as requested.
9. Upon completion of the established review period, the Director General, DOA
and park staff meet to analyze all comments.
10. If the comments warrant, a revised environmental or a full environmental impact
statement may be prepared and redistributed for review.
11. After completion of all reviews, the Director General, in consultation with the
Minister, MOTA makes a final decision and announces it to the stakeholders and
the general public.
12. The selected alternative is then implemented.
Other actions may not require an environmental assessment. In such cases, any grounddisturbing
actions, such as installations of signs, necessitate a subsurface archaeological
survey. A report should follow the survey, stating what tests were performed, the results
of the survey, and what actions should be taken to protect the resources.
5.5.2.3 Animal management
Animals can be better managed in order to limit their impact on the resources of the Park.
First and foremost, donkeys should be removed from the sensitive areas of PAP and
relocated to Turkmaniyya Road. For more information, please refer to Section 4.2. A
hitching station should be established at Turkmaniyya Road to dissuade owners from
tying donkeys to protective fencing.
5.6 Temporary Visitor Center
5.6.1 Existing conditions
Construction of a new Visitor Center is expected to start in spring 2008. The
construction will require the removal of the existing visitor center. A temporary Visitor
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 64

Center will need to be established in order to provide the services currently available at
the existing Visitor Center. The following are among the services and facilities available
at the existing Visitor Center:
• Ticketing;
• Brochures;
• Toilets;
• a model of PAP; and
• a map of the park.
5.6.2 Recommendations
Relocate the temporary Visitor Center to another area near the park entrance. Two
options available are the Guesthouses, owned by the Crowne Plaza, and a plain across the
wadi. The Guesthouses would be the most attractive site, but would depend upon an
agreement with the owner.
Regardless of the location of the temporary visitor center, several basic services should
be provided for the visitor:
• separate lines for individual and group tickets;
• appropriate signs for sales and visitor center displays, and directional signage
(see Appendix B for details); and
• sufficient number of restrooms to accommodate large groups.
5.7 Special Park Use Permits
A special park use is a short-term activity that takes place in a park area and:
• provides a benefit to an individual, group, or organization, rather than the public
at large;
• requires written authorization and some degree of management control from PAP
in order to protect park resources and the public interest;
• is not prohibited by law or regulation; and
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 65

• is neither initiated, sponsored, nor conducted by PAP.
The approval or denial of requests to engage in special park uses is an important and
continuing responsibility of the Director of the PAP. The director should be aware that
decisions related to permitting special park uses may have implications and set
precedents that create difficulties for the future.
A special park use may involve either rights or privileges, and may or may not support
the purposes for which the park was established. In either case, whether the request is
approved or denied, the Director’s decision must be consistent with policies and with
other decisions.
5.7.1 Existing conditions
The Petra Archaeological Park Operating Plan (2000) provides guidelines for permitting
special uses. A permit shall be denied if any activities would:
• cause injury or damage to park resources;
• be contrary to the purposes for which natural, historic, development, and special
use zones were established, or unreasonably impair an atmosphere of peace;
• unreasonably interfere with interpretive, visitor service, or other program
activities, or with the administrative activities of Petra Archaeological Park;
• substantially impair the operation of public use facilities or services of Petra
Archaeological Park concessionaires or contractors;
• present a clear and present danger to the public health and safety; or
• result in significant conflict with other existing uses.
The Director must deny initial or renewal requests upon finding that any of the above
conditions will not be met. Existing activities that do not meet these conditions must be
phased out.
The regulations in the Petra Archaeological Park Operating Plan (2000) also state that an
application for such a permit shall set forth the name of the applicant; the date, time,
duration, nature, and place of the proposed event; an estimate of the number of persons
expected to attend; a statement of equipment and facilities to be used; and any other
information required by the Director, Petra Archaeological Park. The application shall be
submitted so as to reach the Director, Petra Archaeological Park at least two weeks in
advance of the proposed event.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 66

As a condition of permit issuance, the Director, Petra Archaeological Park may require
the following:
1. The filing of a bond payable to the Director, Petra Archaeological Park in an
amount adequate to cover costs such as restoration, rehabilitation, and cleanup of
the area used, and other costs resulting from the special event. In lieu of a bond, a
permittee may elect to deposit cash equal to the amount of the required bond.
2. The acquisition of liability insurance in which Petra Archaeological Park is
named as co-insured in an amount sufficient to protect the park.
The Petra Archaeological Park Operating Plan (2000) states that the permit may contain
such conditions as are reasonably consistent with protection and use of the park for the
purposes for which it is established. It may also contain reasonable limitations on the
equipment used and the time and area within which the event is allowed. Violation of the
terms and conditions of a permit issued in accordance with this section is prohibited and
may result in the suspension or revocation of the permit.
5.7.2 Recommendations
In the case of the Sanctuary area of PAP (including Al-Khazna and Ad-Dayr), deny all
special use requests. Special Park uses or events are not compatible with the desired uses
and visitor experiences described earlier. The value of these sites is such that it would be
impossible for a group to conduct an event or a special use that would not impair the
operation of public use facilities or services, or damage park resources.
All efforts should be made to encourage special events and uses to be held outside of
PAP boundaries in nearby communities. This would serve two purposes: protect the
resources and the visitor experience within PAP and promote the local economy.
5.8 Allocation of Responsibilities
The PAP Council has the responsibility to implement the actions described in this
document. The bylaws that identify an integrated management approach have been
signed. The PAP Council directs park management to carry out the activities. Several
management positions are expected to be filled in the coming months; the performance
reviews of these new managers should include benchmarks related to implementation of
visitor services.
Specific to interpretation, several positions for the Visitor Center and Museums are
required. These include Director, Visitor Center and Museum; Administrative Assistant;
Publications and Exhibit Planner; Senior Interpretive Specialist; two Greeters, and an
audio-visual technician. A brief summary of each of their responsibilities is listed below.
For more specific description of these positions, refer to Section 4.1 of this document.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 67

• The Director, Visitor Center and Museums is responsible for all aspects of
operations of the Visitor Center and the museums.
• The Administrative Assistant performs administrative and clerical duties.
• The Publications and Exhibit Planner plans all exhibits and publications for PAP,
and coordinates with the Senior Interpretive Specialist.
• The Senior Interpretive Specialist produces interpretive plans and programs and
oversees monitoring of interpretation.
• Greeters meet visitors as they enter the Visitor Center and direct them to the
appropriate location.
• The audio-visual technician operates and maintains the electronic interpretive
devices of the Visitor Center.
6.0 Partnerships
One of the keys to a successful interpretive program in PAP will be partnerships.
Because the resources of PAP are limited, it will be necessary for businesses, other
government agencies, non-profit organizations, user groups, and individuals to play an
active r ole in the interpretation of PAP.
6.1 Commercial
Businesses can help explain the significance of Petra to visitors and encourage them to
actively preserve the site during their visit. Tour group organizers can offer information
to visitors before they arrive. This will help visitors plan accordingly. They can also
provide information on visitor behavior, and enforce the message of conservation.
Hotels, restaurants, and other local businesses can offer brochures, information, and other
materials to visitors.
6.1.1 Tour Guides
The tour guides are the human face and contact that visitors will associate with their
experience in Petra. As such, it is important that they provide accurate and consistent
information to PAP visitors. In addition to the studies necessary to become a certified
tour guide, tour guides operating in Petra should be trained in conveying the interpretive
themes to visitors.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 68

In addition, the tour guides have a responsibility to actively direct their visitors to behave
in a manner consistent with preserving the resources. Tour guides need to receive
training on providing this guidance.
PAP should also work with tour guides and tour operators to develop tours devoted to a
theme. For instance, a tour could be devoted to the architecture of Petra, showing how it
changed over time. Another tour might focus instead on places mentioned in religious
histories.
6.1.2 Possible future commercial partners
Although not directly working inside the park, commercial businesses and organizations
can be partners in the interpretive program. Programming should not be limited strictly
to the efforts of PAP staff. Instead, PAP should work with other organizations, including
hotels and tour organizers, to develop programming. Such opportunities would lengthen
the stay of some visitors, thus bringing additional revenue to the Petra region.
Tour operators can be great assets in providing interpretive services. The tour operators
can inform visitors that use any of their services of the fragility of the site. Additionally,
tour operators could provide specialized tours for those interested in a more in-depth
experience. One option might be to host lectures at a local hotel. Another possibility
might include a more hands-on experience, with a sample archaeological site that
provides an overview of the training necessary for excavation.
Hotels and restaurants can play an active role in the interpretive efforts of Petra. Hotels
can offer packages for special events, such as a lecture series. Both restaurants and hotels
can provide brochures and other interpretive materials to guests and visitors.
Additionally, they can advance the message of preservation through guest relations,
posters, and other methods.
Shops can also be partners in the interpretive program. First, they can distribute
brochures as needed. Additionally, they can stock items that relate to and are consistent
with the interpretive themes. Similarly, they can refrain from selling things that are
inconsistent with the interpretive themes, such as sand bottles, which destroy the rock
found in the area.
6.2 Government agencies
Government agencies have a role to play in the interpretive plan for PAP. The Petra
Regional Authority (PRA) is responsible for planning efforts around PAP. It also
receives a percentage of the entrance fees from PAP. PRA can affect the interpretive
program by incorporating the themes into its decision making process. For instance,
when planning for a project, PRA could include as a criteria whether the project will
affect the management of PAP, including if it is not consistent with the themes.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 69

Additionally, PRA has a role in the outreach to the general population, as a local
government entity. PRA can bring information regarding the themes to the residents of
the area.
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities can support the interpretive program through its
actions. MOTA can provide necessary funding to carry out the program. Additionally, it
can provide support services, such as technical expertise, to develop programs.
JTB is an important part of the pre-arrival approach. It offers one of the best
opportunities for supporting the interpretive program. Because it is one of the first access
points a visitor finds information about Petra, JTB can introduce the themes to the visitor.
JTB and PAP should coordinate to provide consistent messages about the park,
particularly the theme of conservation.
6.3 Non-profit organizations
Non-profit organizations can aid in the interpretive programs. They can help educate
their constituents about the importance of the park. Additionally, they can supply
programs and support the activities of PAP. Non-profit organizations may also be
eligible for funding of projects by outside sources that are unavailable to government
organizations or PAP.
7.0 Maintenance of interpretive devices and
infrastructure
The maintenance of interpretive devices and infrastructure should be based upon
standards. The following table reviews the interpretive devices and infrastructure,
describes the standards to which they should be kept, and actions to take if they are not
meeting those standards.
Facilities Standard Strategy
Trash cans and bins Space available for
visitor trash; cans in
good condition (not
broken).
Revise maintenance contract to
require emptying of trash bins at
least one additional time during
peak hours (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
Require vendors to remove their
own trash, i.e., do not allow them
Benches
No graffiti and in
good condition.
to use trash bins.
Park employees should examine
all the benches at least once per
week. If graffiti appears, use
appropriate solvents or other
removal techniques. If broken,
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 70

Facilities Standard Strategy
repair or replace as needed.
Signs
No graffiti and in
good condition.
Park employees should examine
all signs at least once per week. If
graffiti appears, use appropriate
solvents or other removal
techniques. If broken, repair or
Toilets
Restaurants
Sales kiosks
Clean and
functional.
Clean with good
service and safe
food preparation.
Clean and in good
condition.
replace as needed.
Pump all toilet vaults and supply
necessary water for system
nightly. Park staff should clean
toilet facilities twice daily during
peak hours. Restrooms should be
monitored hourly to determine if
toilets are operational and if
cleaning schedule is adequate.
Each restroom should have a
checklist ensuring that the
inspections have taken place. If
the toilet facilities regularly do not
function, the next step would be to
evaluate the system.
Provide training on food
preparation and visitor interaction.
Working with Siyaha, develop
more specific standards for service
and food preparation. Inspect
periodically to determine if these
standards have been met.
Park employees should examine
all the shade structure kiosks at
least once per week. If graffiti
appears, use appropriate solvents
or other removal techniques. If
broken, repair as needed.
All trash and sales items should be
inside sales kiosk.
Trails Clean and safe. Require vendors to clean up
animal waste. This should be in
the vendor agreement.
Electronic media Operational Review electronic media on a
weekly basis to make sure that it
functions correctly. Repair
periodic problems. If problems
consistently appear, review media
to determine if a more
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 71

Facilities Standard Strategy
comprehensive solution is
required.
8.0 Implementation schedule
The table below provides a schedule for the implementation of the Interpretive Plan. It
outlines the activities necessary and an appropriate timeline for their start and
completion.
Timing Action
1 month Schedule more frequent trash pick-up.
Schedule nightly service of toilet vaults.
Remove scaffolding.
Repair sewage system serving the rest rooms at the Basin restaurants and at the
Peace Cave. Repair toilet fixtures in all restrooms.
Remove donkeys from all portions of PAP, except allow donkeys on
Turkmaniyya Road.
Remove incompatible wayside exhibits.
Deny requests to hold special park events in the Sanctuary area.
3 Months Remove existing trashcans.
Install new trashcans, toilets, benches, and sales kiosks for approved items at
recommended locations.
Develop a site bulletin for the Siq and guided trail experiences.
Once the new facilities are in place, update the existing PAP brochure for the
Sanctuary to reflect changes.
Finalize trail brochures for Umm Al-Biyara, Al-Khubtha, Al-Madras, and the
High Place.
Develop a trial transportation system opening Turkmaniyya Road to
pedestrians, camels, and donkeys. Develop a shuttle system between Umm
Sayhoun and Wadi Musa.
Establish a monitoring program to assess visitor flow and implementation of
immediate actions.
Remove tourist police kiosks.
Redeploy police to a roaming presence.
Enforce rules regarding illegal vendors in PAP.
Determine location of temporary Visitor Center.
Implement the special park use permit application process as described in the
Petra Archaeological Park Operating Plan (2000).
6 months Design and install recommended wayfinding, visitor center, warning,
orientation, and wayside exhibit signs at recommended locations.
Provide uniforms for park staff.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 72

Remove souvenir vendors from the park. Retrain and rehire them as park
employees. Possible jobs could include park rangers, guides for secondary
trails, maintenance, etc.
Identify types of violations and establish penalties for them.
Update existing introductory map and brochure.
Hire and train additional park staff to complete organization.
Work with new and existing cooperatives to develop locally produced products
to be sold in the local communities.
9 months Explore use of electronic interpretive services.
Develop training material on themes for tour guides.
Develop training materials for guides on how to communicate with visitors.
Develop appropriate site bulletins, such as for the Siq.
Finalize design of signs and fabricate signs.
Develop a website.
1 year Begin working with outside organizations to develop a relationship and to begin
developing programs to address themes.
Develop a Plan Your Trip brochure.
Install wayside exhibits.
2 years Open new Visitor Center.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 73

9.0 Monitoring and evaluation of Interpretive Program
Monitoring and evaluation of the interpretive program will help to maintain its
effectiveness. Monitoring will be performed on a scheduled, periodic basis and evaluated
to determine corrective actions that need to be taken. Monitoring activities for
interpretation are included in the maintenance standards described in Section 7.0.
Indicator: Take-away message
Based on the interpretive program, visitors should be able to identify several concepts at
the completion of a visit. A survey of visitors will be performed annually to determine if
the messages are effectively conveyed. The following are questions, based on the
interpretive themes in Section 2.0, that should be posed to visitors:
1. Name three peoples that have called Petra home.
2. What did the Nabataeans carve out of the rock?
3. What features in the area led people to settle around Petra?
4. Name two methods Nabataeans used to manage water.
5. Name two things traded by the Nabataeans.
6. Name two trading partners of the Nabataeans.
7. Name two ways in which Petra is associated with religion.
8. Name three religions practiced in Petra during its history.
9. Name two characteristics of Bedouin culture today.
10. Name two factors in the annual nomadic patterns.
11. In what way did the relationship between the Nabataeans and Rome change?
12. Name two factors that damage the sandstone carvings and tombs.
Standard:
The standard for this series of questions is that people should be able to answer
approximately 65 percent of them. If the rate of correct answers declines by ten percent
or more, additional interpretive efforts will be necessary.
Indicator: Visitor satisfaction
Mechanisms that can detect changes in the experience of visitors and the local population
are surveys of these groups. Questionnaires should be prepared, suited to each
population. The questionnaire measuring customer (visitor) satisfaction should contain
the following two questions:
"In your last (current) visit to Petra, which best describes your experience?"
Excellent ....................................................Satisfactory............................................ Unsatisfactory
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
and,
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 74

"Would you recommend this tourist destination to your friends?" (This can be followed
with, "Why, or why not?”)
These questions should be supplemented with others that deal with issues of special
importance to Petra, such as satisfaction with visitor facilities like the visitor center,
comfort stations at the site, accessibility of food and drink. Information about the
effectiveness of the interpretive program would also be helpful; this could be obtained by
questions about what the visitor expected to learn from his or her visit and what was
actually learned by the visitor.
It is important that surveys be conducted so that results are valid and useful. They should
be stratified according to groups about which information is required, that is, questions
should be filled out by international, national, and local tourists, who should be identified
as such on the questionnaires. If informative answers are not forthcoming to written
questions, a statistically valid sample should be obtained through oral interviews.
Nationality, age, and length of stay information should be obtained on each
questionnaire, and occupation and income information if possible.
As important is that questionnaires be obtained at different times of the day, week, and
year. Visitor satisfaction may well vary considerably according to crowding at Petra or
in the visitor zones there. Furthermore, satisfaction may be found to correlate especially
well with PAOT crowding at certain locations for which visitation figures have been
obtained as suggested above (Al-Khazna, Siq, Theater, and so forth).
Standard:
A drop in the satisfaction index of 10% should prompt action by site management.
Petra Archeological Park Interpretive Plan 75

APPENDIX A
MASTER NARRATIVES
(PENDING APPROVAL)
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 76

APPENDIX B
SIGNAGE SYSTEM FOR PETRA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK
WAYFINDING SIGNS
Purpose: These are markers that will help visitors find their way to points of interest.
They may identify nearby features and show distances. They should be simple and
unobtrusive, yet easy to find.
Content: These signs contain the names of the points of interest and arrows identifying
travel directions.
Location: Markers will be located at trailheads, at trail intersections or other decisionmaking
places throughout the Park.
These locations should be included in the signs:
• Al Khazna
• High Place Trailhead
• Royal Tombs Trailhead
• Ad Dayr Trailhead
• Turkmaniyya Road
• Wu’Ayra Crusader Fort
WARNING SIGNS
Purpose: These signs warn visitors of the dangers at particular locations. They should
be clear and unobtrusive, using consistent language.
Location: The warning signs should be placed at the first opportunity a visitor has to
approach a dangerous location or situation. For instance, if the visitor is restricted from
climbing a hill, the sign should be posted at a point the visitor would consider taking
such action, rather than on the hill itself.
Additional warning signs should be placed at the entrances of trails that are accessible
only with a guide.
Content: Message of danger, area to avoid.
Placard signs carrying the following message should be installed on the backs of all
benches and at locations where steps lead to other points of interest.
YOU CAN PROTECT THIS PARK
Stay off sandstone walls
Do not enter tombs or caves
Do not touch carved features
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 77

ORIENTATION EXHIBITS
Purpose: These are maps that provide identification of key points of interest and
identify trails. The panels may also list rules and etiquette. At tabletop height, they will
not restrict views.
Content: “You are here”, diagrammatic map, park etiquette.
Location: These orientation points will be located at the beginning of the City Center
Zone and the Basin Zone.
WAYSIDE EXHIBITS
Purpose: These are stand-alone signs that offer interpretative information specific to
significant sites within the Park. These markers are table-top height and slanted,
unobtrusively placed but discoverable.
Why use a Wayside Exhibit?
When trying to determine how to interpret a park site or feature, a key question must be
answered: What is the best interpretive medium to use? In many instances, the best
medium will be a wayside exhibit. Because they are located outdoors, close to the
features they interpret, wayside exhibits can readily answer visitors' questions—at the
time and place they have them. By engaging visitors at the times and places they want
information, the visitors' experiences can be made more meaningful and rewarding.
Wayside exhibits are effective for a variety of reasons:
• Wayside exhibits are always on duty. They are available to visitors twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week.
• Despite their simple, low-tech character, wayside exhibits can provide a
compelling visual format. Current technologies allow the presentation of large,
full-color illustrations, photographs, and maps.
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 78

• Wayside exhibits foster a direct interaction between visitors and park features. As
visitors gain knowledge about a subject from one exhibit, they can look for
related features or sites and enjoy a more meaningful visit.
In addition to their role in interpretation, wayside exhibits can serve more practical
purposes. They can provide information about park facilities, services, and management
policies. They can alert visitors to safety or resource management issues at the point of
danger or environmental impact, and can graphically emphasize the risk or explain the
reason for the policy. They can also help protect park resources by establishing an
official presence at remote, unstaffed locations. The simple presence of a wayside
exhibit can sometimes be an effective resource protection tool.
Wayside exhibits are economical. They are a good value because:
• The cost of planning, designing, and fabricating wayside exhibits is less than for
many other interpretive media. They do not require the substantial financial
investment often associated with the installation and operation of other media.
Wayside exhibits do not, for example, require the construction or remodeling of a
visitor center, the hiring or training of staff, or the acquisition, installation,
operation, or maintenance of specialized equipment.
• Wayside exhibits are easy to maintain. Exhibit panels require only an occasional
cleaning with soap and water and a periodic application of boat or car wax. They
are also relatively easy and inexpensive to repair. Most repairs to wayside exhibit
panels and bases can be made by park staff.
• Wayside exhibits are durable. Even with limited care, most waysides can last for
decades. When they do need to be replaced—due to vandalism, environmental
deterioration, or a need to update information—wayside panels can be easily
replaced if their original production materials have been preserved.
In short, wayside exhibits offer good interpretive value, providing information and
interpretation at sites where it is needed, in an economical and durable format.
Location: Wayside exhibits should be located at specific points in relation to a unique
subject that warrants highlighting.
Content: Varies by exhibit. The following sites should be addressed via wayside
exhibit. Text to be developed by the Department of Antiquities.
Arrival Zone:
• Bab Al-Siq
• Djinn Blocks
• Obelisk Tomb
• Dam
Siq Zone:
• Siq. The message should incorporate purpose, water channels, resource
protection message.
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 79

• Al Khazeneh.
• Camel caravan
Theater Zone:
• Street of Facades
• Theater
• Royal Tombs
Elbow Zone
• Urn Tomb
City Center Zone:
• Petra/ Blue/ Ridge/ Church
• Temple of Winged Lion
• Colonnaded Street
• The Great Temple
• Qasr al-Bin Exhibit
• Temenos Gate Exhibit
• Petra Pool Complex
• Nymphaeum
Basin Zone:
• Unfinished Tomb
Turkmaniyya Road Zone:
• Turkmaniyya Tombs
• Anjar Quarry Exhibit
Near Country Trails:
• The Monastery
• Zantur
• Wueira Fortress
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 80

Wayside Exhibit Specifications
Wayside Exhibit Bases
Wayside exhibit bases are designed to accommodate all types of flat panels. A standard
base consists of a frame, which holds the exhibit panel, and legs, which hold the frame
and panel at the preferred viewing position. Most exhibit bases are installed by setting
their legs below ground in cement. “Low profile” sign bases are recommended.; the
“upright” style would block the visitor’s views.
Cantilevered Low-Profile Base
This version of the low-profile base is
recommended. The base’s simple, unadorned form
helps to reduce its visual intrusion on the
landscape. Made entirely of welded aluminum
extrusions, the base will not rust or otherwise
corrode, even in harsh environments. It has a
textured finish of polyurethane enamel paint.
Exhibit panels can be easily replaced by removing
rivets that secure the top of the frame assembly.
Panel Sizes (WxH): 36"x24"
Custom Front Edge Height (Z): 32"
Angle: 30 or 45 Degrees
Wayside Exhibit Panel Materials
Several methods of panel imaging and fabrication are available. Of these methods, the
one best suited to a particular situation depends on a variety of factors. Initial cost is, of
course, important, but other questions should be considered as well. To what
environmental conditions will the exhibits be exposed? Must the information presented
be changed frequently? Perhaps the most critical factor is the behavior of your visitors.
Porcelain enamel should be used for signs that will be touched and are recommended
for the two orientation signs with maps. Fiberglass panels are recommended for the
remaining exhibits. It is recommended that two of each be ordered initially so that a
replacement panel is readily available.
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 81

Porcelain Enamel
• Resolution: Fine
• Weathering: Excellent Resistance
• Fade Resistance: Excellent
• Vandalism: Very Good Resistance
• Maintenance: Minimal
• Projected Life: 25+ Years
• Relative Initial Cost: High
• Replacement Cost: High
Porcelain enamel panels are made by fusing ground glass (that has been colored with
mineral oxides) to steel sheets at very high temperatures. The process allows the
reproduction of full-color photographs and finely detailed illustrations and maps. They
are arguably the most visually appealing of all wayside exhibit panels. They are very
durable: guaranteed against fading for 25 years and highly resistant to "casual"
vandalism. An occasional application of auto wax helps to maintain their lustrous
appearance. But their Achilles heel is that they are subject to "shattering" types of
vandalism and are expensive to replace.
Fiberglass Embedded Inkjet Prints / HPL Inkjet Prints
• Resolution: Fine
• Weathering: Good Resistance
• Fade Resistance: Good
• Vandalism: Moderate
• Maintenance: Moderate
• Projected Life: 1 to 5 Years
• Relative Initial Cost: Low
• Replacement Cost: Low
Inkjet prints offer the dual advantages of being produced quickly and at low cost. Digital
printing also allows revisions to be made easily, quickly, and inexpensively. There are a
variety of digital imaging technologies, both for the image process itself and for the
method used to create a rigid panel, and the technologies are evolving rapidly.
Wayside Exhibit Fonts
For titles use Helvetica Neue Bold 75.
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 82

-Primary headline 72 pt
-Secondary headline 50 pt
-Captions and highlight text 20 pt
For text use Century Old Style
-Primary text 30 pt
-Secondary text 24 pt
-Captions 20 pt
Installation and Maintenance
Upon receipt of the panels and bases, the park staff can install the new waysides,
insuring project files and graphics are archived and maintained. The park should also
store backup wayside panels in a location where they will not be damaged.
Tasks
1. Manage shipping to the park and final inspection of the bases.
2. Improve the sites prior to wayside installation to provide full accessibility.
3. Manage installation of wayside structures and panels.
4. Archive final digital files, graphics, and backup panels to facilitate long-term
maintenance.
5. Document credits and use-rights.
6. Close-out project funding.
7. Enter the project into a Media Inventory Database system. Maintain the site to
ensure the vista is clear, the site is safe, and the base is in good shape.
8. Maintain the panels by cleaning on a regular basis.
9. Replace damaged/worn panels and bases.
Wayside Exhibit Maintenance
Although wayside exhibits are among the most durable of all interpretive media and
usually require little maintenance, their usefulness can be enhanced and extended by
regular inspection and care. It is recommended that each exhibit be examined quarterly
and that the procedures described below be applied to exhibit panels that have been
damaged by the elements or by vandals.
Cleaning each exhibit with mild soap and water before inspection can reveal hidden
damage, can remove dirt or debris that may cause more damage, and can improve the
general appearance of the exhibit. Poorly maintained wayside exhibits are less effective
because visitors are less likely to be attracted to them, and they reflect negatively on the
Petra Archaeological Park. A maintenance kit should be kept handy and include
cleaning supplies that will handle most graffiti and debris such as bird droppings.
Cleaning a wayside exhibit is easy, but goes a long way toward enhancing the exhibit’s
effectiveness.
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 83

Material: Porcelain Enamel
Problem
Common surface dirt, including bird
droppings
Spray paint (all types) or permanent
markers
Small chips
Extreme vandalism
Solution
Wash with mild soap or use window cleaner
Apply paint thinner, lacquer thinner, or
acetone
Wash area and apply auto touch-up paint
Replace panel
Material: Fiberglass-embedded Screen or Digital Print
Problem
Common surface dirt, including bird
droppings; mild weathering causing
slight diffusion of image and glass fiber
exposure; moderate scratches
Spray paint
Ink or permanent markers
Severe weathering causing extreme
glass fiber exposure; vandalism
including deep scratches, knife cuts, or
bullet holes; faded graphics,
delaminating, or other severe damage
Solution
Wash with mild soap and water, then apply
marine wax or a clear, satin finish, lacquer
aerosol spray
Try the following (in order) until paint is
removed: wash with mild soap and water
or alcohol; apply paint thinner (mineral
spirits); apply lacquer thinner. If you use
acetone, use it quickly. Rinse with soap
and water.
Apply alcohol or scrub with pencil eraser
Replace panel
Replacing a Wayside Exhibit Panel
Wayside exhibit panels must periodically be replaced due to damage or deterioration.
Fiberglass panels exposed to severe sunlight should be replaced about every two
years. The following steps explain how to replace a panel. For panels mounted in
standard wayside exhibit frames, the process takes less than 10 minutes.
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 84

1. Maintain one fiberglass panel in reserve; order a replacement when the reserve is
installed.
2. To replace a wayside exhibit panel, three tools are needed: a hammer, pliers, and
punch.
3. To replace the panel, first remove the top edge of the frame.
4. The frame is secured with "drive rivets," so called because they are secured by
"driving" a pin into them, then driving it all the way through to remove it.
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 85

5. Using the hammer and punch, drive the center pin all the way through. (If you can
catch and save the pin, the rivet can be reused).
6. Using the pliers, on the underside of the frame squeeze together the expanded
prongs of the rivet, then remove the rivet from the top (you might have to tap it from the
underside).
7. Once all of the rivets are removed (usually 3 on a standard frame) remove the frame
piece and slide the old panel out.
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 86

8. Clean debris from the bottom channel of the frame (you can use the punch to do
this), making sure the “weep” holes on the bottom of the frame are clear. The weep
holes allow rainwater to drain, or weep, from the exhibit.
9. After the frame is clean, slide the new panel into place.
10. Put the top frame piece back in place and secure it with the drive rivets. Place the
rivet in the hole, then use the hammer to drive the center pin into the rivet until the pin is
flush with the rivet head. This expands the prongs on the underside, securing the rivet
and frame.
11. Now, stand back and admire the panel. Or, better yet, stand back and watch visitors
enjoy the fresh exhibit.
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 87

VISITOR CENTER SIGNAGE
(for existing or temporary visitor center)
At Sales Site
• Banner signs to identify point of sales
- Separate tour group leaders from individual sales
• Fee schedule
• Description of transportation services
• Description of guide services
Visitor Center Displays
• Plan Your Visit: Exhibit
• Site map with key points labeled
Directional Signage
• Directional signage to point of sales for services
• Directional signage to toilets (toilets should be identified by international symbol)
• Directional signage to main entry gate
• Directional signage to sales area
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 88

PLAN YOUR VISIT
EXPECT A LOT OF WALKING!
TAKE WATER, SUNSCREEN, HAT, AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
Day 1: HIKE THE SITE
Segment Distance Typical Travel Time
Bab al Siq 800 m 30 min
The Siq 1200 m 40 min
Al Khazneh- Theater 500 m 20 min
Theater-Basin 1500 m 50 min
Basin-Um Sayhoun 2300 m 60 min (steep)
ADDITIONAL DAYS:
EXPLORE ON YOUR OWN
Ad Dayr
Royal Tombs
Wu’Ayra Crusader Fort
Basin Museums
TAKE A GUIDED TOUR
Al Madras
The High Place
Al-Khubtha High Place and Al Khazna Overlook
Al-Habees Crusader Fort
Umm Al-Biyara
Snake Monument
Jabel Haroun
Sabra
Little Petra
Little Petra to Ad Dayr
YOU CAN PROTECT THIS PARK
Stay off sandstone walls
Do not enter tombs or caves
Do not touch carved features
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 89

APPENDIX C
DRAFT WAYSIDE EXHIBIT
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 90

APPENDIX D
DRAFT TRAIL BROCHURES
Jordan Tourism Development in the Petra Region (JTDPR) 91

List of 25 Wayside Exhibits for Petra w/ images collected
NOTE: All images collected are provisional. Permission must be requested before images
are reproduced. Other useful reconstructions (e.g. more recent renderings of the
Colonnaded Street and Pool Complex) are in the process of being obtained from
Chrysanthos Kanellopoulos.
1. Bab al-Siq Exhibit
A. Text:
With its distinctive, layered dome-shaped rocks, the area before you has been
known traditionally as the Bab al-Siq (in Arabic, ‘Gate to the Siq’), a name given
to it by Petra’s Bedouin inhabitants. This zone traces a path which follows the
course of the Wadi Musa (in Arabic, ‘River of Moses’), the meandering bed that
flows from the Ain Musa (‘Spring of Moses’) into Petra itself, terminating at the
chasm entry of the Siq gorge. Its pale gray rock forms part of an ancient sandstone
outcrop deposited in the Late Cambrian period, some 540 million years ago. The
Bab al-Siq contains several rock-hewn monuments and memorials, including the
distinctive tower tombs, known as the Djin Blocks, and the rock-cut funerary
complex of the ‘Obelisk Tomb’ and the ‘Bab al-Siq Triclinium.’ [130 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Markoe photo rock-cut channel, pg. 10 fig. 2
b. McKenzie photo showing water channels in Bab el Siq, plate 53
2. Djin Block Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 50 BCE -50 CE
A conspicuous feature of the Bab al-Siq is a group of three freestanding blockshaped
stone ‘towers’ traditionally known as ‘djin’ blocks, the Arabic word
referring to “ghosts” or “spirits.” In fact, Petra’s Bedouin occupants believed
these monuments to have been the dwellings of such genies, which were thought
to inhabit the area. General opinion today is that these cube-shaped monuments
served as tombs and memorials to the dead. With its engaged half columns, the
third structure is the most architectural of the three; a channel cut around its upper
face preserves fragments of hard plaster, remnants of a cornice that once
decorated its upper face. Interestingly, these ‘djin’ blocks (there are a total of
twenty-five located throughout Petra) occur near sources of flowing water and
thus may have had some ritual connection with worship of water as a divine
fertility gift. [141 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Nehmé and Villeneuve photo of 3 rd Djin block, pg. 90 pl. 46
3. Obelisk Tomb and Triclinium Exhibit

A. Text:
Time span: 25-75 CE
Carved into the sandstone cliffs are two separate rock-cut monuments, set one
above the other. The upper, known as the “Obelisk Tomb,” is crowned by four
elongated pyramids that represent nefesh, Nabataean signs commemorating the
deceased. A central niche in the rock wall behind the obelisks contains the worn
sculpture of a cloak-clad male figure, the probable head of the family buried in
the tomb chamber below with its five rock-cut burial niches. The gabled façade
below marks the placement of a triclinium, a funerary dining hall with benches
carved along three of its sides, where banquets, accompanied by wine, were held
in honor of a god or ancestor. In the cliff face behind is a double inscription in
Nabataean and Greek that refers to a burial monument erected by an individual
named Admanku. The Greek translation of the Nabataean text bears testimony to
the influence of Hellenic culture on cosmopolitan Petra. [153 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. 1900-1920 photo of Obelisk Tomb from Library of Congress
b. Markoe plan Obelisk Tomb, pg. 137 fig. 127
c. Markoe photo of inscription, pg. 138 pl. 128
d. Browning photo of Obelisk Tomb & Triclinium, pg. 48
e. Browning elevation of Obelisk Tomb (restored), pg. 46
f. Guzzo 2-pg photo Triclinium & Obelisk Tomb, pg. 150-151
g. McKenzie axonometric drawing of Obelisk Tomb & Triclinium (Sheila
Gibson), pg. 32
h. McKenzie Photogrammetric elevation of Obelisk Tomb, plate 123
i. McKenzie Photogrammetric elevation of Triclinium, plate 127
j. McKenzie plan of Triclinium and adjoining chambers, plate 128
4. Modern Barrage Dam Exhibit
A. Text:
In antiquity, thirty-five water inlets fed into the Siq gorge, which meant flash
flooding during rainstorms posed great danger. The Nabataeans controlled
floodwaters by diverting the flow of the Wadi Musa with dams, retention basins,
and a rock-cut tunnel of 82 meters length, which redirected water into Petra’s city
center around the Khubtha ridge, feeding into a Nymphaeum, or public fountain
house. The dam built across the mouth of the Siq is a modern construction, built
in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of a flash flood that had earlier swept through the
Siq, resulting in the tragic death of some tourists. It replaces an ancient stone
barrage dam constructed by the Nabataeans in the first century BCE. The top of
the present dam is reached by a ramp on the left; this feature was never a part of
the original structure, which was approached via an ancient bridge erected over
the wadi. [152 words]

B. Possible Images:
a. Browning reconstruction of Barrage and Bridge, pg. 110 fig. 53
b. McKenzie line drawing of Bab el Siq Arch, raised roadway and dam, plate 52
5. Camel Caravan Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 100-50 BCE
A bend in the southern cliff face of the Siq showcases an impressive carving of a
camel caravan. The monumental relief—about one third larger than life—consists
of two approaching groups, each with a pair of camels and drivers. Close
inspection of the upper group reveals that the lead driver, whose figure is
preserved from the waist down, is clad in a loosely, pleated cloth garment of
wool. He holds a stick with which to guide the animals in his bent left arm. That
the scene depicts an actual caravan in procession is clear from worn details, which
reveal that the lead dromedary in the upper group carries a cone-shaped load
protected by a covering blanket adorned with long tassels, and his successor, a
basket-like saddle for conveying portable goods. The camel carvings, it should be
noted, were actually uncovered in archaeological excavations aimed at reducing
the level of the Siq to its original pavement by eliminating centuries of mud and
debris swept in by flash floods. [168 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Markoe photo of upper camel group, pg. 69
6. Al-Khazna Exhibit
A. Text:
Date span: 60 BCE – 50 CE
Standing nearly 40 meters (127 feet) high, this imposing rock-cut monument is
known as the Khazna, Arabic for “Treasury.” The local Bedouin believed that a
Pharaoh’s riches lay hidden in its urn-shaped upper ornament. As research has
shown, the monument is, in fact, a tomb. The structure’s two-story façade consists
of two elements: a monumental entrance with a classical pediment supported by
six columns; and an upper story with a central rotunda and two flanking pavilions
capped by ‘broken’ pediments, a characteristic of Nabataean architecture. Its
carved sculptures feature figures from classical mythology, among them the
divine twins Castor and Pollux, the horsemen framing the main entrance. That the
occupant of the Khazna was a man of great importance is clear from the
monument’s elaborate interior--a grand central chamber accessed by an entrance
hall flanked by two rooms. This arrangement and the tomb’s prominent location
at the end of the Siq suggest that it was setting to a funerary cult honoring the
deceased, a famous Nabataean king whose identity remains uncertain in the
absence of an identifying inscription.

[179 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Roberts lithograph Khazneh from Library of Congress
b. Roberts lithograph Temple called El Khasne from Library of Congress
c. 1898-1914 B&W photo front view el Khazneh from Library of Congress
d. 1907-1940 photo El Khazne from Library of Congress
e. Browning ground plan of the Khasneh, pg. 124 fig. 67
f. Markoe photo of the Khazneh (A. Stewart), pg. 192 fig. 201
g. McKenzie Photogrammetric elevation of the Khasneh, plate 80
7. Theater Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 25—125 CE
Although Petra’s theater is clearly Roman in design, the complex originated with
the Nabataeans, who were responsible for its creation. As archaeology has shown;
the theater may be dated to the early first century CE--to the reign of King Aretas
IV, when Petra’s urban character took shape. In plan, it consists of two distinct
parts: the auditorium and the stage wall. The former featured a semicircular
orchestra and an ascending horseshoe-shaped seating area with vertical stairways
divided into three levels by horizontal passageways. A multi-storied masonry
scene wall shielded the orchestra and stage and served as a theatrical backdrop. In
carving its tiered seating, alterations had to be made to the existing sandstone
slope from which the theater was cut. The cliff face preserves the remains of
earlier tombs that had been carved away to create the auditorium’s rear wall. In
the absence of documentation, the nature of activities held in the theater can only
be guessed at. Indeed, many kinds of events might have been held there: plays by
Greek and Roman authors, musical performances, poetry readings, athletic
matches, public meetings, and perhaps rites honoring the dead. [189 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. 1925-1946 B&W photo amphitheater from Library of Congress
b. Guzzo photo of Orchestra and Stage of Theater, pg. 22
c. McKenzie plan of Main Theater, plate 90
8. Royal Tombs Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 60 BCE—50 CE
Four grand tombs on the Khubtha Ridge overlook Petra’s city center. Their
elaborate architecture and prominent locations suggest that they held families
from Petra's uppermost social stratum, very probably its royalty. As these
prominent monuments have no inscriptions to identify them, they have been given

monikers based on their characteristic features. From right to left, they are: the
Urn Tomb (discussed separately), ‘Silk’ Tomb, Corinthian Tomb, and Palace
Tomb. Set back in a deep recess in the Khubtha slope, the ‘Silk Tomb,’ the
smallest of the four, has drawn acclaim for the brilliant banded coloring of its
sandstone façade. Beyond it is the so-called Corinthian Tomb, named for the
Greek Corinthian-style capitals of its upper story; in reality, these are direct
imitations of the native Hellenistic capitals adorning the Khazneh. Beyond the
Corinthian Tomb lies the largest and most elaborate of all of Petra’ rock-cut
monuments, the Palace Tomb, so named because its exterior is thought to reflect
the actual façade of a Hellenistic or Roman period palace. Like its Corinthian
neighbor, this multi-storied tomb features four entrances, each in reality opening
onto a separate funerary chamber. [187 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Browning lithograph Roberts Urn Tomb & Royal Tombs, pg. 74 fig. 29
b. Browning ground plan Corinthian Tomb, pg. 220 fig. 157
c. Browning ground plan Palace Tomb pg. 223 fig. 160
d. 1898-1914 B&W photo Palace Tomb from Library of Congress
e. McKenzie plan of Corinthian Tomb, plate 117
f. McKenzie Photogrammetric elevation of Palace Tomb, plate 146
g. McKenzie plan of Palace Tomb, plate 147
9. Nymphaeum Exhibit
A. Text:
Before you are the remains of a Roman nymphaeum, or public drinking fountain,
located at the eastern end of Petra’s Colonnaded Street. This edifice, named after
the nymphs, the female nature (water) spirits of classical mythology, formed a
recurrent feature of most Greco-Roman cities; Petra was no exception. A civic
ornament, it functioned not only as a repository for water but as a lively meeting
place for the city’s populace, Although only the lowest courses of its masonry
now remain, it is possible to reconstruct the fountain, based upon the vestiges of
other nymphaea better preserved. Elevated upon a stepped podium, the building
consisted of a freestanding wall decorated with porticos and featuring a large
central exedra or apse that contained the fountain proper, whose waters emptied
into a shallow pool below. It was from this basin that Petra’s inhabitant retrieved
their water in ceramic three-handled jars, or hydria.
The nymphaeum marked the junction of the Wadi Musa and its tributary, the
Wadi Mataha. As stated earlier, tt was through the latter that the waters of the
Wadi Musa were redirected by means of a dam and excavated tunnel built at the
entrance to the Siq. The nymphaeum, one of the terminals of the Siq’s water
system, was designed as a very flattened triangle to assist the confluence of the
two streams. [222 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Browning reconstruction of Nymphaeum pg. 136, fig. 81

10. Monastery Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 85 BCE-110 CE
Deeply carved into shoulder of the Gebel ed-Deir, the monument traditionally
known as “the Monastery” presents the most imposing rock-cut facade at Petra.
At a breathtaking width of 45 meters, it is more expansive than the earlier
Khazneh, upon whose general design it is based. By comparison, the façade of ed-
Deir is much shallower and more austere, an impression heightened by the now
empty niches (designed to hold free-standing statuary).occupying its upper and
lower stories. Its form and context suggest that the monument served a different
function, not as a tomb but as a form of religious sanctuary. Such a function may
be inferred from the monument’s interior, which consists of a broad chamber with
a platform (accessed by a double staircase) set within a central rock-cut niche.
The presence of two benches along the chamber’s lateral walls indicates that it
served as a biclinium, a sacred dining hall where banquets to a god were
celebrated. Other features, such as ed-Deir’s processional rock-cut pathway and
its broad leveled courtyard also point to such a sacred function. As scholars have
argued, the divine recipient honored within was a Nabataean king, who had been
elevated in status as a god. [198 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. 1867-1899 B&W (yellowed) photo of Ed-Deir Monastery from Library of
Congress
b. Roberts lithograph El Deir from Library of Congress
c. 1940-1946 B&W photo of Ed Deir from Library of Congress
d. McKenzie Photogrammetric elevation of Deir monastery, plate 139
11. Siq Exhibit
A. Text:
The origins of Petra’s entry gorge, known in Arabic as the Siq, may be traced to
ancient cracks in the rock, known as joint and fault lines, which were formed by
earthquake movement in Jordan’s Rift Valley. Water erosion along such fracture
lines led ultimately to the creation of a deep and narrow chasm. The distinctive
colorful banded sandstone from which the Siq was cut dates back some 540
million years ago.
Through an ambitious engineering program, the cliff faces of the Siq were
adapted to house an elaborate network of ceramic pipelines and covered rock-cut
channels that supplied the city with fresh drinking water from several outside
sources, including the Ain Musa, or “Spring of Moses.” As recent investigation
has shown, the beaten surface of the original road through the Siq was paved to
allow wheeled traffic capable of transporting the imported limestone needed to
construct Petra’s main buildings. The Siq was also home to a variety of rock-

carved niche-like shrines and sanctuaries, where prayers and offerings were made
to the gods to ensure prosperity. [176 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Markoe photo of rock-cut channel, pg. 10
b. Browning lithograph Laborde arch, pg. 114 fig. 58
c. Roberts lithograph Triumphal Arch from Library of Congress
12. Street of the Facades Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 50 BCE--50 CE
This sector of the Outer Siq has been given the name ‘Streets of Facades’ as its
rock-cut tombs are neatly arranged in ascending rows along the cliff face,
suggesting the appearance of a ‘street.’ The tombs are fairly homogenous in type
and appearance, with vertical facades featuring crow-stepped attics and simple
rectangular entrances. These tombs have been labeled ‘Assyrian,’ based upon the
similarity of their stepped designs to the crenellated decoration found on Assyrian
and Babylonian architecture of the seventh and sixth centuries BCE. The exact
relationship of the two architectural traditions, separated by an interval of some
five hundred years, remains unclear. Although Petra’s tombs blend into the
sandstone cliffscape today, their appearance in antiquity was markedly different.
Traces of surviving pigment reveal that their crow-step ornamentation was
highlighted in color against a white plastered façade. The ‘buried’ state of the
tombs provides dramatic proof of the extent to which this sector of the Siq has
gradually filled up with debris swept in by flash flooding, which has completely
destroyed the tops of two of the surviving facades. [179 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Browning B&W photo of Street of Facades, pg. 129 fig. 73
13. Petra Church, Blue Chapel and Ridge Church Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 375-ca. 600
The Petra Church is the southernmost of a complex of Byzantine ecclesiastical
structures. Petra’s main church is a standard basilica divided into a nave and side
aisles by two east-west rows of eight columns each. The church features well
preserved stone and glass mosaics in its side aisles. Subjects include a series of
animals, humans and objects set within vine-scroll medallions on the north, and a
host of animals as well as figures drawn from classical mythology on the south.
West of the church proper are a colonnaded courtyard and a baptistery, the most
complete such installation in the Near East. The church is known for its papyrus
scrolls, which were burnt in a fire that ravaged the building toward the end of the

sixth century. Penned in Byzantine Greek, these documents provide a rare and an
invaluable look into the lives of Petra’s Christian inhabitants in late antiquity.
North of the Petra Church is the Blue Chapel complex that probably served as the
residence of Petra’s bishop. Its private chapel features blue granite columns. At
the top of the ridge is the Ridge Church that was probably converted from a
military installation into a church late in the 4 th century. [201 words]
B. Possible Images [COPYRIGHT ACOR!!]:
a. Markoe aerial photo of Petra Church, pg. 238 fig. 261
b. Markoe sketch plan of Petra Church complex, pg. 249 fig. 277
14. Temple of the Winged Lion Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 25-75 CE
In its simple rectangular layout, the Temple of the Winged Lions is a modest
construction consisting of two rooms—a temple proper and a shallow entry porch.
The focus of worship is a square elevated altar platform (motab) bordered by
twelve freestanding columns. Two additional rows of columns separate the
temple’s remaining floor space into narrow bays. As architectural traces show, the
sanctuary’s interior was lavishly decorated with brightly painted and molded
plaster. An inscribed limestone plaque with a stylized female face, uncovered
within the temple, reveals that the deity worshipped within was a goddess,
perhaps the supreme Nabataean deity, Al ‘Uzza. An unusual feature of the temple
complex are its adjoining workshops--for grinding pigment, working marble,
processing oil, and hammering metal; such activities may have helped to finance
the temple’s religious operations. The sanctuary takes its name from the
ornamental winged felines that decorate its column capitals. [149 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Markoe plan of the Temple of the Winged Lions and its annexes, pg. 224 fig.
245
15. Colonnaded Street Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 100-200 CE
The stretch of cobbled pavement upon which you stand marks the emplacement of
the main Colonnaded Street that ran through Petra's city center. The road in its
present form was built by the Romans in the second century CE. It replaced an
earlier Nabataean street—a spacious dirt-and-gravel road lined with houses that
followed the winding course of the Wadi Musa, Petra’s main riverbed. The
Romans straightened, narrowed and paved the street, ornamenting it with a double
row of columns and constructing a stretch of commercial shops on its south side.

As in all Roman cities, Petra’s Colonnaded Street served as a commercial center
and place of social gathering. Coins and bed supports found in one area suggest
that there was even a tavern where patrons reclined for a meal.
Archaeological investigation has shown that the street, like much of the city, was
upended by the devastating earthquake of 363 CE, which toppled its colonnades
and destroyed its commercial buildings. The nine columns presently standing
have been re-erected from ancient column drums littering the street. [175 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Browning reconstruction of Colonnade Street, pg. 54 fig. 18
16. The Great Temple Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 25 BCE-100 CE
Occupying an area of 7560 square meters, the Great Temple complex is by far the
largest building at Petra. Accessed by a propylaeum, or monumental entryway, it
features two successive open-air precincts situated at different elevations. The
lower precinct in which you stand consists of a spacious paved courtyard flanked
east and west by triple colonnades, each with 60 assembled columns, a number of
which have been partially re-erected. Each bore capitals of imported limestone
with carved elephant heads, exotic symbols of strength and power. The upper
precinct, accessed by a pair of monumental stairways, features a small open-air
theater with semi-circular tiered seating. Its small size and layout suggest that it
may have been designed as a council chamber or a judicial assembly hall, where
local civic matters were deliberated. The presence of this theater and the adjoining
columned courtyard suggests that the building, originally identified as a temple,
was probably a civic complex built under the patronage of the Nabataean royal
house. The building’s downtown location outside the Qasr al-Bint temple precinct
would strongly support this conclusion. [179 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Browning reconstruction of central city area, pg. 142 fig. 83
17. Temenos Gate Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 125-225 CE
Before you, at the western end of the Colonnaded Street, stands the Temenos
Gate, the monumental arched entranceway to the Qasr al-Bint temple precinct.
Roman in is plan and conception, the gateway complex featured three entrances--
a large central bay and two smaller lateral ones. Its main east face was
embellished with four freestanding projecting columns, and bore carved paneled
decoration featuring busts of deities alternating with vegetation. The gateway’s

north and south entrances were originally flanked by tower-like constructions;
today only a part of the outer wall of the northern structure remains. The present
gateway has been restored in modern times, using a combination of ancient and
modern sandstone blocks. The complex, which dates to the middle of the second
century, had collapsed in the devastating earthquake of 363 CE. It replaced an
earlier structure that was contemporary with the Qasr al-Bint temple precinct.
[145 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Browning reconstruction of the Temenos Gate, pg. 145 fig. 86
b. McKenzie plan of Temenos area, plate 21
c. McKenzie plan and elevation of Temenos gate, plate 55
18. Ornamental Garden and Pool Complex Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: ca. 0-40 CE
Before you are the partially excavated remains of an ornamental garden and pool
complex built during the reign of King Aretas IV (9BCE-40CE). On the north, a
large earthen terrace housed a formal garden. Subsurface analysis using Ground-
Penetrating Radar revealed the presence of masonry construction along the central
axis. Excavations are uncovering such built features as well as the original
stratum of garden soil and planting pits for shrubs or shade trees. In the south, a
monumental open-air pool (43 x 23 meters) has at its center an island-pavilion
from which views of the garden paradise could be enjoyed. Fragments of worked
stone and painted stucco attest to the building’ elaborate architectural decoration.
The complex was equipped with an intricate hydraulic system that fed the pool
and also irrigated the garden terrace through stone conduits and ceramic pipelines.
Given its elegant setting and elaborate construction, the complex seems to have
been intended for Petra’s elite population. Its conspicuous display of water and
vegetation served as a symbol of the city’s emerging affluence. [172 words]
B. Possible Images:
Reconstruction of Pool/Garden Complex by Chrysanthos Kanellopoulos
19. Qasr al-Bint Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 25 BCE—25 CE
Before you stands Petra’s oldest and most venerable temple complex, the Qasr al-
Bint Far’un (in Arabic, “Castle of the Pharaoh’s Daughter”). The tallest
freestanding structure in Petra, it was situated on a podium accessed by a grand
marble staircase. In antiquity, the temple’s columned façade towered 23 meters
(75 feet) in height and was crowned with an elegant sculpted architectural frieze.

The building’s battered appearance today, the result of natural and human
devastation, is deceiving. As recent examination has shown, the entire structure
was completely covered, inside and out, with intricate ornamental decoration in
painted and gilded stucco.
The Qasr al-Bint is typically Nabataean in plan, featuring a colonnaded porch
backed by a wide main hall and a series of rear rooms that formed the temple’s
inner sanctum. It was here that the sanctuary’s main god, Dushara, was
worshipped, according to Nabataean native practice, in the form of a betyl, a
rectangular standing stone. [154 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Markoe axonometric drawing of Qasr al-Bint, pg. 204 fig. 220
b. Markoe plan of Qasr al-Bint, pg. 205 fig. 221
20. Urn Tomb Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 40-75 CE
Like its neighbors, the elegant Urn Tomb is cut deeply into the mountainous slope
of the Khubtha Ridge. Its lofty vertical façade terminates in a pediment topped by
an urn-shaped ornament that gives it its name. Unusually, a central burial niche,
one of three excavated in the rock above the tomb’s entrance, commemorates the
dedicant, who is immortalized by a portrait bust on its stone cover panel. The Urn
tomb complex sits within a deep courtyard with colonnaded cloisters; the columns
of the left-hand portico survive intact. The tomb is well sited: its projecting
courtyard faces directly toward Petra’s chief temple, the Qasr al-Bint., suggesting
that its owner was a Nabataean king. This assumption is supported by the tomb’s
spacious interior, a vast internal chamber 17 metes deep with four recesses in its
rear wall. The central two niches were re-carved into a form of apse, when the
tomb was converted to a Christian church; a painted inscription records the
monument’s consecration by Bishop Jason in 447 CE [188 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Markoe photo of weathered bust in burial niche, pg. 136 pl. 125
b. Browning ground plan of Urn Tomb, pg. 215 fig. 153
c. McKenzie Photogrammetric elevation of Urn Tomb, plate 92
d. McKenzie plan of Urn Tomb, plate 93
21. Turkmaniyya Tombs Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 50-100 CE
This tomb overlooking the Wadi Turkmaniyah is distinguished not by its
architecture but by the lengthy tomb inscription engraved between the half-

columns of its façade. This rare and important inscription states that the tomb and
all of its property are dedicated to Dushara, “the god of our lord,” supreme head
of the Nabataean pantheon. Here, mention is made of the god’s “sacred throne,”
alluding to the ‘betyl,’ or block of stone, that served as the god’s abode. Within its
listing of sacred property, the inscription refers to a porticoed enclosure that stood
in front of the tomb. This integral feature had long been swept away by the
turbulent waters of the Wadi Turkmaniyah, which also destroyed the entire lower
half of the tomb’s façade. The cavity created by this flooding has exposed the
tomb’s spacious double-chambered interior, a feature duly noted in the above
inscription. [145 words].
B. Possible Images:
a. Markoe photo of inscription on Turkmaniyah Tomb, pg. 38 fig. 17
b. McKenzie plan of Turkmaniyah Tomb, plate 159
22. Anjar Quarry Exhibit
A. Text:
Date span: 50 BCE—100 CE
These trimmed vertical rock faces, dressed at various intervals, represent quarries
for stone obtained locally by the Nabataeans. Although durable limestone,
imported from the Shara Mountains beyond Petra, was favored for masonry
construction in the city, local sandstone was also employed. The sandstone
outcrops here along the Wadi Siyyagh, being the most solid, furnished material
for monumental buildings, such as the Qasr al-Bint located nearby. The quarried
faces here show the distinctive herringbone patterns into which the Nabataean
masons chiseled the stone, which they accessed by means of carved footholds. [90
words]
B. Possible Images:
Possible images to be provided later.
23. Stately Residence at ez-Zantur Hill Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span: 25- 50 CE
Excavations begun in 1996 on Petra’s Ez-Zantur ridge overlooking the city center
have uncovered the remains of a stately Nabataean private residence built in the
early first century CE. Its basic plan is Hellenistic Greek-inspired, with a peristyle
surrounded by receiving rooms and servants’ quarters and an area set aside for the
private use of the house owner. The latter, which occupies the mansion’s southern
perimeter, consists of a central vestibule flanked by two stately rooms. All three
chambers, equipped with stone-paved floors, were embellished with decorative
stucco and wall paintings imitating colorful paneled masonry. An architectural

highlight of the house may found in a smaller, more centrally located room, which
bears intricate wall paintings featuring fanciful illusionistic renderings of classical
architecture. This painting style, well attested at Pompeii and in Rome of the age
of Augustus (31 BCE-14 CE), has here been locally adapted. In contrast to its
Roman counterparts, the paintings at Ez-Zanur are confined to a narrow zone of
the lower wall. [165 words].
B. Possible Images:
a. Markoe aerial photo of ez-Zantur area, pg. 230 fig. 249
24. Unfinished Tomb Exhibit
A. Text:
Time span
50BCE-50CE:
This carved niche with crow-step ornament represents the remains of a tomb that
was begun but never completed. Its crowning architecture--two sets of five half
crow-steps arranged in mirror image--represents only one-quarter of the tomb’s
total finished façade, which would have included a flared cornice below and a
simple rectangular rock-cut entrance providing access to a shallow excavated
funerary chamber.
This unfinished façade shows the effort expended by the Nabataean stone carver
in excavating deeply into the irregular cliff face. The resulting cavity provided a
functional platform from which the mason could finish the tomb’s architectural
details, working his way slowly downward, chipping away at the unfinished rock
face with his hammer, pick, and chisel. We can only speculate about the reasons
underlying the tomb’s unfinished state. Did the owner run out of funds to pay his
workers, or did he change his mind about the tomb’s size or location? In the
absence of written information, we shall never know. [161 words]
B. Possible Images:
a. Browning line drawing of Unfinished Tomb, pg. 50 fig. 16
25. Wueira Fortress Exhibit
A. Text:
Date span: 12 th century :
The isolated hilltop ruins that stand before you represent the remains of a military
fortress built by the Crusaders in the twelfth century. Within its battlemented
walls are the remains of an apse-shaped Christian church or basilica. Although
small in scale, the castle, one of a number of Crusader defensive strongholds built
in the region, was important enough to have been the object of an attack by the
famed Arab warrior Sultan Saladin. The castle’s historical name Wu’aira is
preserved in the period writings of two Arab chroniclers, who recorded the
Castle’s capture by Saladin in 1188. [97 words]

B. Possible Images:
Possible images to be provided later.
Sources used
Browning, Iain. Petra. London: Chatto & Windus, 1982.
Guzzo, Maria Giulia Amadasi and E. E. Schneider. Petra. Chicago: The University of
Chicago, 2002.
Markoe, Glenn. Petra rediscovered: the lost city of the Nabataeans. New York: Harry N.
Abrams in association with the Cincinnati Art Museum, 2003.
McKenzie, Judith. The architecture of Petra. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2005.
Nehmé, Laïla and F. Villeneuve. Pĕtra: métropole de l’Arabie antique. Paris: Seuil, 1999.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html. Accessed online 17 April 2008.

APPENDIX B
SIGNAGE SYSTEM FOR PETRA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK
WAYFINDING SIGNS
Purpose: These are markers that will help visitors find their way to points of interest.
They may identify nearby features and show distances. They should be simple and
unobtrusive, yet easy to find.
Content: These signs contain the names of the points of interest and arrows identifying
travel directions.
Location: Markers will be located at trailheads, at trail intersections or other decisionmaking
places throughout the Park.
These locations should be included in the signs:
• Al Khazna
• High Place Trailhead
• Royal Tombs Trailhead
• Ad Dayr Trailhead
• Turkmaniyya Road
• Wu’Ayra Crusader Fort
WARNING SIGNS
Purpose: These signs warn visitors of the dangers at particular locations. They should
be clear and unobtrusive, using consistent language.
Location: The warning signs should be placed at the first opportunity a visitor has to
approach a dangerous location or situation. For instance, if the visitor is restricted from
climbing a hill, the sign should be posted at a point the visitor would consider taking
such action, rather than on the hill itself.
Additional warning signs should be placed at the entrances of trails that are accessible
only with a guide.
Content: Message of danger, area to avoid.
Placard signs carrying the following message should be installed on the backs of all
benches and at locations where steps lead to other points of interest.
YOU CAN PROTECT THIS PARK
Stay off sandstone walls
Do not enter tombs or caves
Do not touch carved features

ORIENTATION EXHIBITS
Purpose: These are maps that provide identification of key points of interest and
identify trails. The panels may also list rules and etiquette. At tabletop height, they will
not restrict views.
Content: “You are here”, diagrammatic map, park etiquette.
Location: These orientation points will be located at the beginning of the City Center
Zone and the Basin Zone.
WAYSIDE EXHIBITS
Purpose: These are stand-alone signs that offer interpretative information specific to
significant sites within the Park. These markers are table-top height and slanted,
unobtrusively placed but discoverable.
Why use a Wayside Exhibit?
When trying to determine how to interpret a park site or feature, a key question must be
answered: What is the best interpretive medium to use? In many instances, the best
medium will be a wayside exhibit. Because they are located outdoors, close to the
features they interpret, wayside exhibits can readily answer visitors' questions—at the
time and place they have them. By engaging visitors at the times and places they want
information, the visitors' experiences can be made more meaningful and rewarding.
Wayside exhibits are effective for a variety of reasons:
• Wayside exhibits are always on duty. They are available to visitors twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week.
• Despite their simple, low-tech character, wayside exhibits can provide a
compelling visual format. Current technologies allow the presentation of large,
full-color illustrations, photographs, and maps.

• Wayside exhibits foster a direct interaction between visitors and park features. As
visitors gain knowledge about a subject from one exhibit, they can look for
related features or sites and enjoy a more meaningful visit.
In addition to their role in interpretation, wayside exhibits can serve more practical
purposes. They can provide information about park facilities, services, and management
policies. They can alert visitors to safety or resource management issues at the point of
danger or environmental impact, and can graphically emphasize the risk or explain the
reason for the policy. They can also help protect park resources by establishing an
official presence at remote, unstaffed locations. The simple presence of a wayside
exhibit can sometimes be an effective resource protection tool.
Wayside exhibits are economical. They are a good value because:
• The cost of planning, designing, and fabricating wayside exhibits is less than for
many other interpretive media. They do not require the substantial financial
investment often associated with the installation and operation of other media.
Wayside exhibits do not, for example, require the construction or remodeling of a
visitor center, the hiring or training of staff, or the acquisition, installation,
operation, or maintenance of specialized equipment.
• Wayside exhibits are easy to maintain. Exhibit panels require only an occasional
cleaning with soap and water and a periodic application of boat or car wax. They
are also relatively easy and inexpensive to repair. Most repairs to wayside exhibit
panels and bases can be made by park staff.
• Wayside exhibits are durable. Even with limited care, most waysides can last for
decades. When they do need to be replaced—due to vandalism, environmental
deterioration, or a need to update information—wayside panels can be easily
replaced if their original production materials have been preserved.
In short, wayside exhibits offer good interpretive value, providing information and
interpretation at sites where it is needed, in an economical and durable format.
Location: Wayside exhibits should be located at specific points in relation to a unique
subject that warrants highlighting.
Content: Varies by exhibit. The following sites should be addressed via wayside
exhibit. Text to be developed by the Department of Antiquities.
Arrival Zone:
• Bab Al-Siq
• Djinn Blocks
• Obelisk Tomb
• Dam
Siq Zone:
• Siq. The message should incorporate purpose, water channels, resource
protection message.

• Al Khazeneh.
• Camel caravan
Theater Zone:
• Street of Facades
• Theater
• Royal Tombs
Elbow Zone
• Urn Tomb
City Center Zone:
• Petra/ Blue/ Ridge/ Church
• Temple of Winged Lion
• Colonnaded Street
• The Great Temple
• Qasr al-Bin Exhibit
• Temenos Gate Exhibit
• Petra Pool Complex
• Nymphaeum
Basin Zone:
• Unfinished Tomb
Turkmaniyya Road Zone:
• Turkmaniyya Tombs
• Anjar Quarry Exhibit
Near Country Trails:
• The Monastery
• Zantur
• Wueira Fortress

Wayside Exhibit Specifications
Wayside Exhibit Bases
Wayside exhibit bases are designed to accommodate all types of flat panels. A standard
base consists of a frame, which holds the exhibit panel, and legs, which hold the frame
and panel at the preferred viewing position. Most exhibit bases are installed by setting
their legs below ground in cement. “Low profile” sign bases are recommended.; the
“upright” style would block the visitor’s views.
Cantilevered Low-Profile Base
This version of the low-profile base is
recommended. The base’s simple, unadorned form
helps to reduce its visual intrusion on the
landscape. Made entirely of welded aluminum
extrusions, the base will not rust or otherwise
corrode, even in harsh environments. It has a
textured finish of polyurethane enamel paint.
Exhibit panels can be easily replaced by removing
rivets that secure the top of the frame assembly.
Panel Sizes (WxH): 36"x24"
Custom Front Edge Height (Z): 32"
Angle: 30 or 45 Degrees
Wayside Exhibit Panel Materials
Several methods of panel imaging and fabrication are available. Of these methods, the
one best suited to a particular situation depends on a variety of factors. Initial cost is, of
course, important, but other questions should be considered as well. To what
environmental conditions will the exhibits be exposed? Must the information presented
be changed frequently? Perhaps the most critical factor is the behavior of your visitors.
Porcelain enamel should be used for signs that will be touched and are recommended
for the two orientation signs with maps. Fiberglass panels are recommended for the
remaining exhibits. It is recommended that two of each be ordered initially so that a
replacement panel is readily available.

Porcelain Enamel
• Resolution: Fine
• Weathering: Excellent Resistance
• Fade Resistance: Excellent
• Vandalism: Very Good Resistance
• Maintenance: Minimal
• Projected Life: 25+ Years
• Relative Initial Cost: High
• Replacement Cost: High
Porcelain enamel panels are made by fusing ground glass (that has been colored
with mineral oxides) to steel sheets at very high temperatures. The process
allows the reproduction of full-color photographs and finely detailed illustrations
and maps. They are arguably the most visually appealing of all wayside exhibit
panels. They are very durable: guaranteed against fading for 25 years and highly
resistant to "casual" vandalism. An occasional application of auto wax helps to
maintain their lustrous appearance. But their Achilles heel is that they are subject
to "shattering" types of vandalism and are expensive to replace.
Fiberglass Embedded Inkjet Prints / HPL Inkjet Prints
• Resolution: Fine
• Weathering: Good Resistance
• Fade Resistance: Good
• Vandalism: Moderate
• Maintenance: Moderate
• Projected Life: 1 to 5 Years
• Relative Initial Cost: Low
• Replacement Cost: Low
Inkjet prints offer the dual advantages of being produced quickly and at low cost.
Digital printing also allows revisions to be made easily, quickly, and
inexpensively. There are a variety of digital imaging technologies, both for the
image process itself and for the method used to create a rigid panel, and the
technologies are evolving rapidly.
Wayside Exhibit Fonts

For titles use Helvetica Neue Bold 75.
-Primary headline 72 pt
-Secondary headline 50 pt
-Captions and highlight text 20 pt
For text use Century Old Style
-Primary text 30 pt
-Secondary text 24 pt
-Captions 20 pt
Installation and Maintenance
Upon receipt of the panels and bases, the park staff can install the new
waysides, insuring project files and graphics are archived and maintained. The
park should also store backup wayside panels in a location where they will not be
damaged.
Tasks
1. Manage shipping to the park and final inspection of the bases.
2. Improve the sites prior to wayside installation to provide full accessibility.
3. Manage installation of wayside structures and panels.
4. Archive final digital files, graphics, and backup panels to facilitate longterm
maintenance.
5. Document credits and use-rights.
6. Close-out project funding.
7. Enter the project into a Media Inventory Database system. Maintain the
site to ensure the vista is clear, the site is safe, and the base is in good
shape.
8. Maintain the panels by cleaning on a regular basis.
9. Replace damaged/worn panels and bases.
Wayside Exhibit Maintenance
Although wayside exhibits are among the most durable of all interpretive media
and usually require little maintenance, their usefulness can be enhanced and
extended by regular inspection and care. It is recommended that each exhibit be
examined quarterly and that the procedures described below be applied to
exhibit panels that have been damaged by the elements or by vandals.
Cleaning each exhibit with mild soap and water before inspection can reveal
hidden damage, can remove dirt or debris that may cause more damage, and
can improve the general appearance of the exhibit. Poorly maintained wayside
exhibits are less effective because visitors are less likely to be attracted to them,

and they reflect negatively on the Petra Archaeological Park. A maintenance kit
should be kept handy and include cleaning supplies that will handle most graffiti
and debris such as bird droppings. Cleaning a wayside exhibit is easy, but goes
a long way toward enhancing the exhibit’s effectiveness.
Material: Porcelain Enamel
Problem
Common surface dirt, including bird
droppings
Spray paint (all types) or permanent
markers
Small chips
Extreme vandalism
Solution
Wash with mild soap or use window
cleaner
Apply paint thinner, lacquer thinner, or
acetone
Wash area and apply auto touch-up
paint
Replace panel
Material: Fiberglass-embedded Screen or Digital Print
Problem
Common surface dirt, including bird
droppings; mild weathering causing
slight diffusion of image and glass fiber
exposure; moderate scratches
Spray paint
Ink or permanent markers
Severe weathering causing extreme
glass fiber exposure; vandalism
including deep scratches, knife cuts, or
bullet holes; faded graphics,
delaminating, or other severe damage
Solution
Wash with mild soap and water, then apply
marine wax or a clear, satin finish, lacquer
aerosol spray
Try the following (in order) until paint is
removed: wash with mild soap and water
or alcohol; apply paint thinner (mineral
spirits); apply lacquer thinner. If you use
acetone, use it quickly. Rinse with soap
and water.
Apply alcohol or scrub with pencil eraser
Replace panel
Replacing a Wayside Exhibit Panel

Wayside exhibit panels must periodically be replaced due to damage or
deterioration. Fiberglass panels exposed to severe sunlight should be replaced
about every two years. The following steps explain how to replace a panel. For
panels mounted in standard wayside exhibit frames, the process takes less than
10 minutes.
1. Maintain one fiberglass panel in reserve; order a replacement when the
reserve is installed.
2. To replace a wayside exhibit panel, three tools are needed: a hammer, pliers,
and punch.
3. To replace the panel, first remove the top edge of the frame.

4. The frame is secured with "drive rivets," so called because they are secured
by "driving" a pin into them, then driving it all the way through to remove it.
5. Using the hammer and punch, drive the center pin all the way through. (If you
can catch and save the pin, the rivet can be reused).
6. Using the pliers, on the underside of the frame squeeze together the expanded
prongs of the rivet, then remove the rivet from the top (you might have to tap it
from the underside).

7. Once all of the rivets are removed (usually 3 on a standard frame) remove the
frame piece and slide the old panel out.
8. Clean debris from the bottom channel of the frame (you can use the punch to
do this), making sure the “weep” holes on the bottom of the frame are clear. The
weep holes allow rainwater to drain, or weep, from the exhibit.
9. After the frame is clean, slide the new panel into place.
10. Put the top frame piece back in place and secure it with the drive rivets.
Place the rivet in the hole, then use the hammer to drive the center pin into the
rivet until the pin is flush with the rivet head. This expands the prongs on the
underside, securing the rivet and frame.

11. Now, stand back and admire the panel. Or, better yet, stand back and watch
visitors enjoy the fresh exhibit.

VISITOR CENTER SIGNAGE
(for existing or temporary visitor center)
At Sales Site
• Banner signs to identify point of sales
- Separate tour group leaders from individual sales
• Fee schedule
• Description of transportation services
• Description of guide services
Visitor Center Displays
• Plan Your Visit: Exhibit
• Site map with key points labeled
Directional Signage
• Directional signage to point of sales for services
• Directional signage to toilets (toilets should be identified by international
symbol)
• Directional signage to main entry gate
• Directional signage to sales area

PLAN YOUR VISIT
EXPECT A LOT OF WALKING!
TAKE WATER, SUNSCREEN, HAT, AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
Day 1: HIKE THE SITE
Segment Distance Typical Travel Time
Bab al Siq 800 m 30 min
The Siq 1200 m 40 min
Al Khazneh- Theater 500 m 20 min
Theater-Basin 1500 m 50 min
Basin-Um Sayhoun 2300 m 60 min (steep)
ADDITIONAL DAYS:
EXPLORE ON YOUR OWN
Ad Dayr
Royal Tombs
Wu’Ayra Crusader Fort
Basin Museums
TAKE A GUIDED TOUR
Al Madras
The High Place
Al-Khubtha High Place and Al Khazna Overlook
Al-Habees Crusader Fort
Umm Al-Biyara
Snake Monument
Jabel Haroun
Sabra
Little Petra
Little Petra to Ad Dayr
YOU CAN PROTECT THIS PARK
Stay off sandstone walls
Do not enter tombs or caves
Do not touch carved features

ObeliskTombandTriclinium
[ArabicTitleHere]
100BCE 0 100CE 200CE 300CE
Carvedintothesandstoneclifsaretwoseparaterock-cutmonuments,setone
abovetheother.Theupper,knownasthe“ObeliskTomb,”iscrownedbyfour
elongatedpyramidsthatrepresentnefesh,Nabataeansignscommemorating
thedeceased.Acentralnicheintherockwalbehindtheobeliskscontainsthe
wornsculptureofacloak-cladmalefigure,theprobableheadofthefamily
buriedinthetombchamberbelowwithitsfiverock-cutburialniches.
Thegabledfaçadebelowmarkstheplacementofatriclinium,afunerary
dininghalwithbenchescarvedalongthreeofitssides,wherebanquets,
accompaniedbywine,wereheldinhonorofagodorancestor.
InthecliffacebehindisadoubleinscriptioninNabataeanandGreekthat
referstoaburialmonumenterectedbyanindividualnamedAdmanku.The
GreektranslationoftheNabataeantextbearstestimonytotheinfluenceof
HeleniccultureoncosmopolitanPetra.
PlanoftheObeliskTomb.
PlanoftheBabal-SiqTriclinium and
adjoiningchambers.
[Arabictexthere]
[Arabictexthere]
[Arabictranslationofmaintexttogohere.]
DRAFT
PetraArchaeologicalPark
MinistryofTourism andAntiquities
TheHashemiteKingdom ofJordan

JORDAN TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT IN THE
PETRA REGION (JTDPR)
INTERPRETIVE PLAN FOR PETRA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK
VOLUME II: OFF-SITE INTERPRETATION
JUNE 08

Petra Archaeological Park Interpretive Plan Volume II: Off-Site
Interpretation
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1
2.0 Interpretive activities to be provided outside the park........................ 1
2.1 Programming................................................................................................... 2
2.1.1 Existing Conditions............................................................................... 2
2.1.2 Recommendations................................................................................. 2
2.2 Museum presentations on-site and off .................................................... 3
2.2.1 Existing conditions................................................................................ 3
2.2.2 Recommendations................................................................................. 4
3.0 Visitor Services and Facilities to Be Provided Outside the Park...... 4
3.1 Existing conditions.................................................................................... 4
3.2 Recommendations..................................................................................... 5
4.0 Transportation ................................................................................................ 6
4.1 Existing conditions.................................................................................... 6
4.2 Recommendations..................................................................................... 7
5.0 Environmental Assessment ....................................................................8
5.1 Purpose of an environmental assessment ............................................. 8
5.3 Content of EA............................................................................................ 10
ii

Petra Archaeological Park Interpretive Plan
Volume II: Off-Site Interpretation
1.0 Introduction
The Petra Archaeological Park Interpretive Plan supports the management goals of Petra
Archaeological Park (PAP) by presenting the media and content required to orient
visitors to the Park in ways that will allow them to experience it in ways that are
sustainable; that is, which are not likely to produce injury to visitors, damage to Park
resources, and that are respectful of local communities. It also provides ways to engage
visitors in the stories and issues associated with the Park, and in doing so hopefully
enlisting them as advocates for the Park and its preservation.
Another major goal of the interpretive plan is to move as many interpretive services as
possible off-site to local communities. This will be the focus of Volume II. Moving
many, if not most, interpretative activities outside of the Park should be done for several
reasons. Among these are to create jobs for the inhabitants of nearby communities; to
lessen the workload of Park staff; to extend visitor stay by providing additional activities,
some of which are not appropriate inside the Park; to offer more in-depth interpretation at
a venue that does not impede visitor flow and at locations that are comfortable and
accessible and that can be sustainably provided within the Park; and to provide additional
opportunities to reinforce key Park conservation messages.
In order to facilitate the decision-making process for interpretation and other
management decisions, environmental assessments (EAs) should be conducted before
actions are taken that may affect natural, cultural, social, or economic conditions. The
EA provides decision makers with the appropriate information regarding the potential
impacts on natural and cultural resources and social and economic conditions an action
would have. Rather than outlining the potential impacts of only the proposed action, an
EA discusses the potential impacts of a range of alternative actions. Therefore, an EA is
recommended as the means by which to decide on the specific actions recommended
below. Such a process is described in detail in Section 4.
2.0 Interpretive activities to be provided outside the park
While much of the interpretation of PAP is done on-site within the park, various aspects
of the tourist experience are best performed outside the park boundaries. Removing those
various services that are not necessary for visitors will enhance the park experience and
promote economic opportunities for neighboring communities.
1

2.1 Programming
Exit interviews with visitors to historic sites and focus groups indicate that the factor that
most influenced visitor satisfaction is the degree to which they feel that they have formed
a pleasant relationship with those associated with the site. As such, an experience in
Petra is often much more than simply hiking through the Sanctuary. Instead, it is also the
learning and exploration that comes with interacting with the people that one encounters.
Programs set in local communities offer ways for people to interact in a more meaningful
way with not only the environment, but also the people in communities, as well as to
vicariously experience the Park through stories told by the people that they meet. A
programmed market experience in a local community, for example, allows shopping
transactions to be conducted in congenial and relaxed atmospheres, as opposed to what
can be perceived as aggressive vending done within Park. It also provides a learning
opportunity for Park visitors, who can be told about the traditional means and modes by
which handicrafts are produced.
2.1.1 Existing Conditions
Programming in Petra is conducted primarily on-site by both PAP and non-profit
organizations. The Petra by Night is a nightly tour overseen by PAP. Friends of
Archaeology, a non-profit organization, conducts periodic tours of the site for its
members and the public. The programming activities are not coordinated between
organizations and the Park.
2.1.2 Recommendations
At Petra, the programming will be coordinated and overseen by PAP staff, but it will not
necessarily be carried out by PAP. As much programming as possible will be done by
private organizations in coordination with PAP. This will serve several purposes. First,
it will provide economic opportunities to organizations and individuals in the community.
Second, it will reduce the burden on the PAP, whose resources are limited.
The following are guidelines for successful programs:
• As much programming as possible should be done off-site. Such things as
reenactments, lectures, demonstrations, and markets should take place in the
neighboring communities. Facilities outside the Park can be provided that are
best suited for the presentation. Off-site activities cause less wear on the park.
Off-site activities also provide jobs and generate income for local communities.
• Programs should be offered that address each of the themes.
• As much programming as possible should be done by private organizations in
coordination with PAP.
2

• Programming opportunities to be fully developed include
o Tours based on specific topics (e.g. architecture, hydrology, etc.). The
tour content should be developed by PAP. The tours would be
conducted by tour guides.
o Tours to specific areas within PAP that receive much less visitation
than the Petra Sanctuary. These can include Beidha, Wadi Sabra,
Jabul Harun, and others. The recommendation is predicated on the
assumption that such tours would not lead to significant impacts on the
resources. To ensure that this is the case, an environmental assessment
may need to be conducted before implementation.
o Lecture series. A lecture series would appeal to those people who are
very interested in the site and are looking for an in-depth experience.
A lecture series would extend the stay of guests attending.
o Dig and excavation experience. Such an experience would be
organized by a non-profit organization under the supervision of PAP.
This option would offer the social components many visitors seek.
o Bedouin experience/ tent stay. One of the main attractions of this
program for the visitor is the interaction with the local community.
Ideally, it would offer an authentic experience to visitors unfamiliar
with Bedouin culture.
o Reenactments. Reenactments provide visitors a way to better visualize
the ancient experience.
o Markets. Markets will offer souvenirs and other products off-site in
the local communities. The markets serve two purposes. First, they
provide the vendors an opportunity to sell items to visitors in a way
that is non-aggressive and in a traditional environment. Markets also
offer visitors the opportunity to interact with the local community.
2.2 Museum presentations on-site and off
While it may appear that museums are static institutions, especially when the permanent
installations change little over time, museums have the opportunity to be dynamic and
lively places. Lecture series, museum tours, special presentations, classes, and events can
give more in-depth study of themes for those visitors who are interested. Furthermore,
these programs encourage repeat visits and extend the stays of visitors.
2.2.1 Existing conditions
3

At present, no presentations take place off-site or are coordinated with the museum.
Occasional presentations by non-PAP organizations do take place, but these are not
coordinated with interpretive staff.
2.2.2 Recommendations
The interpretive staff at PAP, consistent with the themes and the educational messages of
the museums, will produce or help coordinate events and presentations to attract people
to the site and encourage in-depth exploration of Petra. In order to develop the content
and produce the events, the PAP must partner with outside organizations. In urban areas,
museums around the world use volunteer specialists, called docents. These are typically
financially independent people, such as retirees, who can dedicate themselves to
providing interpretive services. Given its location, developing a pool of docents would
likely be a challenge for Petra.
Instead, the museum should take advantage of partnership opportunities. Potential
partners should include Petra National Trust, Friends of Archaeology, various
universities, Amman UNESCO, outside museums, and others. These groups can be
called upon to help organize events, train docents, or simply support efforts by possibly
supplying speakers and technical expertise.
PAP, in conjunction with a partner organization, will develop content and programs for
more in-depth exploration of the interpretive themes. Lectures, special presentations, and
events will happen off site, to the extent possible. An in-depth lecture series can explore
topics from different perspectives. One possibility is to develop a module of materials
for a guided tour of the museums. These will be conducted by guides.
3.0 Visitor Services and Facilities to Be Provided Outside the
Park
3.1 Existing conditions
The tourism sector in Petra is considered one of the key economic sectors that contribute
to promoting living standards. According to the Petra Rapid Assessment conducted in
August 2007 by Siyaha, it is estimated that the subsistence of approximately 70 percent
of the district’s inhabitants depend on this sector. For example:
• 40 lodging establishments provide employment opportunities to the people in this
area.
• Horse riding fees provide for approximately 365 owners who in turn support
approximately 700 families in Wadi Musa.
4

• Camel and donkey riding fees provide the lion’s share of income earned by the
population of Umm Sayhoun.
• Tour guides and owners of souvenir shops work toward the stimulation of the
local economy.
In addition to the economic activities discussed in the Rapid Assessment, an inventory
conducted in March 2008 identified 79 vending outlets within PAP. In the 1980s, 14
cooperatives were established, providing a way for Bdoul merchants to sell refreshments,
food, souvenirs, and other items within PAP. The 14 cooperatives still exist, but at least
64 unauthorized vendors conduct business within PAP. Many of these are ad-hoc stands,
mostly selling souvenirs, even simply rocks. Others are more elaborate, with structures.
3.2 Recommendations
Locate visitor services outside PAP boundaries, to the greatest extent possible. These
services should be available in the communities of Umm Sayhoun and Wadi Musa. A
bazaar in Umm Sayhoun should be established. This would provide a location for
handicraft vendors who had previously conducted business in PAP to be relocated outside
of PAP. At that
time, all
handicraft sales
within PAP
should be
moved outside
of the park.
Those 14
cooperatives
that had
originally been
authorized to
sell handicrafts,
food, and
refreshments
should transition
to selling only
refreshments
and other visitor
services directly
related to safely
enjoying the
park. The
bazaar will only
Figure 3.2: Potential Future Site of Souk at Elgee, Wadi
Musa
be successful if Turkmaniyya Road is opened for visitors to exit PAP and a shuttle
service from Umm Sayhoun to Wadi Musa hotels and the park entrance is implemented.
5

Visitor services should also be made available in Elgee. This site in Wadi Musa offers a
particular opportunity for revitalization based on tourism. The site would be attractive as
an additional destination and activity for visitors to Petra. The creation of a souk at Elgee
would provide visitors an authentic experience in an historic setting. Programming for
evening activities would provide an additional experience for the visitor. Again, the
success of this program is dependent upon a shuttle that goes from Umm Sayhoun to
Elgee, and then on to hotels and the PAP visitor center.
In order to create the most economic benefit, the items sold at the bazaar and souk should
come from the local community. The sorts of visitors who will contribute the most to the
well-being of Petra are interested in buying genuine local handicrafts. Steps to capitalize
on existing craft cooperatives, such as Al-Anbat Women’s Cooperative, Al-Khazna
Women’s Cooperative, and the Al-Khazna Society, should be taken. The efforts
described in the Petra Rapid Assessment are a guideline for strengthening these
organizations.
4.0 Transportation
4.1 Existing conditions
At present there is no Transportation Plan. Modes of transportation have simply
developed in response to increasing numbers of tourists. Many visitors find the relatively
long distances difficult to negotiate without assistance due to the sometimes rugged
ground that must be traversed in frequently taxing weather conditions.
Transportation alternatives for visitors include walking; riding horses, donkeys, or
camels; and riding in horse carts. Walking is the most common method for visitors who
are physically able to walk, and provides access to all appropriate sites. The distance
from the visitor center to Al-Khazna is 4.07 km, while the distance between the Basin
and Umm Sayhoun using Turkmaniyya Road is only 2.48 km. The trip back via the Siq
is longer but less physically taxing, while Turkmaniyya Road is shorter but covers steep
terrain. Currently, Turkmaniyya Road is not available to people exiting PAP.
Animal conveyance is also available within PAP. Riding horses is available between the
entrance and the dam (entrance to the Siq). In fact, a horse back ride should be included
with admission to PAP in large groups. Horse-drawn carriages are available through the
Siq to Al-Khazna. These carriages are only for visitors who would otherwise have
difficulty reaching the sites; however, in actuality, these vehicles are not always limited
to those who cannot physically make the trip.
Donkeys currently provide transportation to Ad-Dayr, climbing stairs side-by-side with
pedestrians. This leads to conflicts between people and donkeys in tight spaces along the
6

trail. Donkeys are also severely degrading the resources. Many of the stairs leading to
Ad-Dayr have been worn away due to the hard donkey hooves.
Camels provide transportation between Al-Khazna and the Basin, and occasionally out of
PAP using Turkmaniyya Road. They are less degrading to the cultural resources because
their feet are padded.
Animal presence in PAP presents several problems. Animal waste can frequently be
found throughout PAP. This is evident along trails, particularly on the stairs leading to
Ad-Dayr, although the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MOTA) is exploring a
“diaper” system for horses. Also, the animals are not always cared for properly.
Donkeys are frequently tied to chain link fences, causing holes due to the frequent pulling
by the donkeys.
Approximately 20 shuttles have been purchased in order to transport visitors out of PAP
via Turkmaniyya Road. Unfortunately, based on current conditions, the road cannot
accommodate more than one truck at a time. Widening the road is not an option because
the impacts to cultural resources would likely be great. Also, this would encourage the
use of large vehicles on the road, which would be intrusive to the ancient landscape there
and in adjacent areas of the Park Sanctuary.
4.2 Recommendations
Based on the issues described above, several solutions are offered:
• Open Turkmaniyya Road for visitor access. Visitors on foot or using camel or
donkey transport should be allowed to exit at Umm Sayhoun. Additionally,
visitors with multiple day passes should be allowed to enter the park through
Turkmaniyya Road. Although it is steep, the distance between Umm Sayhoun and
the Basin using Turkmaniyya Road is approximately half of the distance between
the Basin and the main entrance. By opening an additional exit point, the
sanctuary area will become significantly less crowded.
The opening of Turkamaniyya Road will be monitored to ensure that the road’s
capacity is not exceeded
• Allow donkeys to provide transportation to Umm Sayhoun, but remove them
from the rest of the Park. This would prevent further damage produced by the
hooves of donkeys to the fabric of the ancient site, while providing a service to
visitors and maintaining the income of many of the donkey vendors.
• Begin a pilot program using the newly purchased shuttle vehicles to
transport visitors between Umm Sayhoun and Wadi Musa. The visitors
would be picked up at a new stop in Umm Sayhoun, and then dropped off at
hotels and the visitor center in Wadi Musa. A shuttle would support the visitor
circulation patterns, reducing congestion in the spine, while also providing
7

commercial opportunities for the local communities. Map 3 illustrates the
proposed circulation pattern.
• Conduct an environmental assessment to determine the best sustainable
transportation option connecting the Basin to Umm Sayhoun and Wadi
Musa. This assessment would evaluate alternatives, based on the following
considerations:
o Length of route
o Number of users
o Schedule of operation
o Vehicle size and type
o Fuel
o Air quality
o Impacts to archaeological resources
o Support facilities
o Availability of drivers
o Driver training
o Administration and management
The pilot program discussed above would be considered as one of the alternatives and
evaluated using the same criteria.
5.0 Environmental Assessment
An environment assessment (EA) is an extremely valuable tool in deciding a course of
action, whether it is a plan, policy, or physical change to be implemented. An EA is
developed by a government agency before an action is taken. An EA is a document that
provides an analysis of the potential impacts of a proposed action to a variety of
resources, including economic and cultural. In order to provide a complete analysis, the
EA also provides the potential impacts if no action were taken, i.e. the status quo
continued, and a series of alternative actions to accomplish the same goal.
5.1 Purpose of an environmental assessment
An EA serves several purposes. First, and perhaps foremost, it informs the decision
maker as to the potential impacts of an action. Some actions may have unintended
consequences not considered otherwise. Additionally, EAs provide an integrated way to
assess all the impacts, as opposed to looking strictly at economic or resource impacts. As
mentioned above, the EA also considers not just the proposed action, but also alternatives
to the action, which give a better understanding of the potential consequences of an
action.
8

An EA serves not just the interest of the decision maker, but also the public. An EA
provides a mechanism for community outreach and input. By meeting with the public
and receiving comments, the government agency has the opportunity to “sell” its decision
and provide accurate information. The agency also has the opportunity to consider other
voices because the public has an opportunity to express their concerns and opinions.
An EA also provides documentation of decisions. This provides the agency with a clear
and defensible rationale for the decision. It also allows the public to clearly understand
the thoughts and criterion that went into the decision.
Figure 5.2: EA Process
Determine Lead Agency
Publish Notice of Intent
Conduct Scoping Process
Prepare Draft EA
Circulate Draft EA for
Review
Hold Public Hearing
(if desired)
Prepare Final EA
Adopt Final EA
Make Agency Decision
Prepare Decision of Record
5.2 Steps in an environmental
assessment
Several steps are required for preparing and
completing an EA. Each serves a specific purpose
in the development of the document. Below is a
description of each step and Figure 4.2 illustrates
the process.
Determine the lead agency. A lead agency is the
agency with primary responsibility on a proposed
action. The lead agency determines what the
scope of the EA should be and evaluates its
conclusions.
Publish Notice of Intent. The lead agency will
publicly advertise that an environmental
assessment is to be conducted to address a
particular issue, a description of which should be
included in the notice.
Conduct scoping process. Scoping refers to the
process by which lead agencies solicit input from
the public and interested agencies on the nature
and extent of the issues and impacts to be
addressed in the EA and the methods by which
they will be evaluated.
Prepare a Draft EA. A Draft EA is prepared in
accordance with the decision reached during the
scoping process. The Draft EA discloses and
discusses all major points of view on the
environmental impacts of the alternatives. The
contents of the Draft EA are discussed in Section
9

4.4.
Circulate Draft EA for Review. The lead agency provides public notice of the
availability of the Draft EA to interested persons and agencies.
Hold public hearing (if desired). A lead agency may conduct a public hearing on the
Draft EA.
Prepare Final EA. The Final EA is prepared after comments on the Draft EA are
received and reviewed. The Final EA contains the lead agency’s responses to all
received comments and discusses any opposing views on issues raised.
Adopt Final EA. The lead agency adopts the EA and accepts it as official.
Make agency decision. The lead agency determines that the proposed action identified
in the Final EA is indeed the path it wishes to take.
Prepare Decision of Record. This is a written public record explaining why the lead
agency has taken a particular course of action.
5.3 Content of EA
The content of the EA obviously varies among proposed actions, but the general outline
and topics covered is consistent. Figure 4.3 lists the contents, while each specific topic is
summarized below.
Figure 5.3: Contents of an EA
• Cover Sheet
• Summary
• Table of Contents
• Statement of Purpose and Need
• Alternatives including the
proposed action
• Affected environment
• Environmental consequences
including mitigation measures
• List of preparers
• List of agencies and
organizations consulted
• Comments and Responses to
Comments
• Appendices
Cover sheet. The cover sheet
provides the name of the document,
the lead agency, the producer of the
document (if produced by someone
other than the lead agency, such as a
contractor), and the date of issue.
Summary. The summary includes all
major conclusions, areas of
controversy, issues raised to be
resolved, and the agencies choice of
action. This is primarily written for
those who only want a quick
understanding of the proposed action.
Table of contents. The table of
contents assists the reader in
navigating through the different
components of the EA.
10

Statement of purpose and need. The statement of purpose and need explains the
problem or opportunity to which the agency is responding and discusses the benefits that
would be realized by carrying out the proposed action. It also helps the lead agency
select the range of alternatives to be evaluated in the EA.
Alternatives including the proposed action. The EA must explore and evaluate a range
of reasonable alternatives along with the proposed action. Reasonable alternatives are
those that may be feasibly carried out.
The description of the proposed action should include the following:
• The name and type of proposal.
• Location of the proposed action.
• Project features, including design, construction, and operation of any proposed
buildings or facilities.
• Construction activities and schedule.
• Future phases of the proposed action, if any.
• Build-out assumptions.
• Connected actions, if any.
• Features incorporated into the proposed action’s design to avoid or reduce adverse
impacts.
Affected environment. The EA succinctly describes the environment of the area
affected or created by the proposed action and alternatives. It also establishes a baseline
for impact evaluation.
Environmental consequences. This section of an EA forms the scientific and analytic
basis for the comparison of the proposed action and alternatives. The discussion of the
consequences includes the environmental effects of each of the alternatives on each area
of the affected environment. Any mitigation measures taken as part of the action can be
included in this discussion.
List of preparers. This list states the names and qualifications, including expertise,
experience, and professional discipline, of the persons who are primarily responsible for
preparing the document.
List of agencies and organizations consulted. The Draft EA lists the names of all
agencies and organizations to which the document is sent for review.
Comments and responses to comments. The Final EA lists comments received and
discusses any responsible opposing view that was not adequately addressed in the Draft
EA and must indicate the lead agency’s response to the issues raised. These are
frequently compiled in a table.
Appendices. The EA may include appendices that contain background material prepared
in connection with the EA.
11

5.4 Areas to be considered
The areas of the environment to be considered in an EA vary depending upon the
proposal and location. However, a general list of areas should be considered. In the
event that the area of the environment is not relevant to the proposed project, the area can
be addressed by stating that it is not affected.
• Aesthetics and urban design
• Agricultural resources
• Air quality
• Wildlife
• Vegetation
• Special status species (i.e., those that are rare or have a protected status)
• Hydrology and water quality (both ground and surface waters)
• Cultural and historical resources
• Geology and soils
• Hazardous and toxic materials
• Land use planning
• Mineral resources
• Noise
• Population growth and housing
• Public health and hazards
• Public services (e.g. water, sewer, waste, etc.)
• Recreation
• Transportation and traffic
12