Great Temple, Petra
Just off to the left of the Colonnaded Street is the Great Temple. A one great building, and the source of some controversy. Its design led many archeologists to believe it was a temple, but later discoveries challenged this belief. The semi-circular oratory room, similar to ones found in the Roman senate, has made people wonder if this was actually the seat of the Nabataean government.
Nabatean temple, afterwards adaptated by romans for their ceremonies. It is really huge and has many different areas, rooms, even a small theatre. There are also many columns and aisles, and one can get lost there. It is being restored now a days. Maybe is not one of the most famous monuments of Petra, but don't miss walking around it for a few minutes.
This large building on the south side of the Colonnade Street was mapped out by an archeologist named Bachman in 1921. He called it the Great Temple so the building has gone by that name ever since. The Theater in the Great Temple to makes archeologists wonder if this was a temple, or if it was perhaps the senate hall for the Nabataean government.
A number of archaeological projects are being carried out in this area, usually for a few months only each year. The Americans are working on the two temples.
The "Great Temple" where the heads of elephants decorate the columns (and which apparently might in reality have been the seat of local government), is to the left.
A small auditorium has been found with benches arranged in a circle, and it is perhaps the place where a ruling council met. The great columns are decorated with the heads of elephants.
Posted by Lulu
Walking along the Cardo Maximus, before the Temenos Gate on your left, there is the Big Temple. It's a very important religious building built in the first century BC it was destroy by an earthquake some years later. It's very big, there are a cople of stairs that lead to two big yards and all around there are ruins of columns.
To the left, you don’t see it very well from the cardo maximo but there is a “huge stuff”. It is still not very clear what kind of building that was but most probably it was used as a temple.
We can see an imposing stair leading to the “propyleum”, a huge square surrounded by a triple rank of columns.
At the back stand the temenos, the sacred part of the temple. That’s also where we can see a small (renovated) theatre. The archeologists are still trying to make sense out of it.