[INDENT]
[LEFT][FONT=Times New Roman]al-Siq[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]al-Siq ([/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_********"][FONT=Times New Roman]Arabic[/FONT][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman]: [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]السيق) (translated: [I]the shaft[/I]) is the main entrance to the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient"]ancient[/URL] city of [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra"]Petra[/URL] in southern [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan"]Jordan[/URL]. The dim, narrow gorge (in some points no more than 3 meters wide) winds its way approximately one mile and ends at Petra's most elaborate ruin,[/FONT]
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Khazneh_%28the_Treasury%29"][FONT=Times New Roman]Al Khazneh (The Treasury)[/FONT][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman].[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]The Siq is a natural geological fault produced by tectonic forces and worn smooth by water erosion. The walls that enclose the Siq stand between 91-182 meters (300-600 feet) in height. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]The entrance to the Siq contains a huge dam, reconstructed in [/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963"][FONT=Times New Roman]1963[/FONT][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman] and again in [/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991"][FONT=Times New Roman]1991[/FONT][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman], designed to bar the mouth of the Siq and reroute the waters of [/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadi_Musa"][FONT=Times New Roman]Wadi Musa[/FONT][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman]. The dam is a fairly true reconstruction of how the Nabateans did to control Wadi Musa between the first century BC and the beginning of the first century AD. The entrance also contains the remnants of a monumental arch, of which only the two abutments and some hewn stones of the arch itself have survived. The arch collapsed in [/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896"][FONT=Times New Roman]1896[/FONT][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman] following an earthquake, but its appearance is known based on the lithograph works of[/FONT]
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Roberts_%28painter%29"][FONT=Times New Roman]David Roberts[/FONT][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman]. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]The Siq was used as the grand caravan entrance into Petra. Along both walls of the fissure are a number of votive niches containing [I][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baetylus"]baetyli[/URL][/I], which suggest that the Siq was sacred to the Nabatean people. In [/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998"][FONT=Times New Roman]1998[/FONT][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman], a group of statues were uncovered when digging was conducted to lower the road by more than six feet. Although the upper part is greatly eroded, it is still possible to recognize the figures of two merchants, each leading two camels. The figures are almost twice lifesize. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Along the Siq are some underground chambers, the function of which has not yet been clarified. The possibility that they were tombs has been excluded and archaeologist find it difficult to believe that they were dwellings. The majority consensus is that they housed the guards that defended the main entrance to Petra. [/FONT]
[/LEFT][/INDENT]