Siq

The Siq is a narrow, natural gorge that serves as the main entrance to the ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan. The term is derived from a word meaning fissure or cleft, reflecting the way the gorge is formed by sandstone rock and natural joints. The Siq stretches for about 1.2 kilometers and is flanked by high, tall cliffs whose heights reach tens to over a hundred meters in places. The width varies from a few meters in the narrowest sections to wider passages, and light filtering from above creates shifting colors in the rose-red stone.

Historically, the Nabataeans used the Siq as a controlled approach to Petra, enhancing security and ceremony as travelers entered the city. The walls contain carved niches and there is evidence of ancient water-management features along the route, part of Petra’s broader hydraulic system. The walk through the Siq culminates at the Treasury, or Al-Khazneh, a monumental façade carved directly into the rock and one of Petra’s most famous landmarks.

Geologically, the Siq is primarily a sandstone gorge and its walls exhibit natural stratification and weathering patterns that contribute to the site’s dramatic appearance. Seasonal water flow and occasional rockfall are natural considerations for preservation and tourism. Today, the Siq is an integral component of Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985, and remains a major channel through which visitors access Petra’s monumental architecture and other archaeological remains.