During your walk towards the Ridge Church Complex, looking towards the opposite southeastern direction, you can see the Khubtha mountain with the so-called Royal tombs carved into its western slope; on the left, the Palace Tomb with the Corinthian Tomb on its right.  The Nabataean paid a great attention to their dead. They buried them in monumental tombs located in prominent positions around the city, where they dominate their surroundings and command views from afar.

Petra was not only a Necropolis or a city for dead people, but it was also a prosperous residential town and one of the largest and most fascinating archaeological cities in the world.

It was marked by its luxurious buildings and monuments.  What you see today in Petra is testament to the magnificence of Nabataean architecture and construction. Petra was once an oasis with irrigated gardens and streets lined with temples and luxurious homes. The resident of the city lived in costly stone houses and villas at the height of Nabataean power and prosperity.  Some residents of Petra also lived in rock- cut houses in various areas in the city such as the west side of al-Habis, the Wadi as-Siyyag and Wadi ed-Dayer. 

The Nabataeans had much to be proud of; They built magnificent monuments such as the Colonnaded street, Qasr al-Bint Temple and its Temenos Gate, the Great Temple, the Temple of the Winged Lions, the Baths and the Theater. The Greek Geographer Strabo described Petra at the end of the first century B.C. as a well-governed city, whose inhabitants live in stone houses, with beautiful gardens provided with water by excellent irrigation systems.