Story

The story of Al Khazneh

Al Khazneh

Al-Khazneh means "The Treasury", a name that comes from Bedouin legends of riches hidden in the stone urn high on the second level. One tale says a pharaoh created the building by magic to keep his treasure safe, hence its other name, Treasury of the Pharaoh.

In reality the urn is solid sandstone, and the bullet damage you may notice on it is attributed to Bedouins who believed the legend. The Treasury was most likely built as a mausoleum and crypt at the beginning of the 1st century AD, under King Aretas IV. Look up at the figures: four eagles that would carry away the souls, dancing Amazons with double axes, and beside the entrance the twins Castor and Pollux.

Behind this elaborate façade lies only a plain main chamber with three antechambers. In 1989 the façade starred in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as the entrance to the resting place of the Holy Grail.

This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗

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