The Blue Chapel Complex
In the Nabataean period, this large building may have been used for military purposes. In the late 5th or early 6th century AD the building was converted for use by the Christian community, maybe as the residence of the bishop. Part of the building program was the Blue Chapel, named for the four Egyptian blue granite columns that were presumably moved there from a nearby Nabataean monument. There is the base for the bishop's throne in the apse. The chapel also had a marble pulpit, marble chancel posts and screens, and marble reliquary. The upper building consists of three sections and may have served as the actual residence for the bishop and his retinue.
In 1993, a cache of 152 papyrus rolls was found in a room adjacent to the church. They had been carbonized in a fire and that is what reserved them. Written in Greek, the 6th century documents deal with real estate transactions, disputes, contracts, sales, divisions of property, marriages, dowries, and inheritances. They reveal the active and rich social and economic life of the city and its agricultural hinterland and confirm the continuing importance of Petra as a regional administrative center of the Byzantine Empire.
The mosaic is compsed of 84 medallions arranged in three columbs. Vines emerge from a vase at the Western end and these form frames for the medallions. The central colum contains mainly objects such as baskets, bowles and vases. Anamils and birds, including peacocks, boar, horses, and elephants, as well as a few human figures flank them. The whole is surrounded by a braided border. The third row from the east shows two offerers, on black and one white, flanking a chest which perhaps contains jewwlry. The fifth row from the east shows two giraffes with the characteristics of camels. Artistically, the mosaic is related to mosaics in Madaba and Gaza. In the apse to the east of this mosaic is a checkerboard mosaic, and is matched by one in the Souther apse.
After spending the day touring Petra we headed back to the hotel in Amman. Here is a picture of the sunset in the desert from our drive back. The next morning I started my trip back to Kabul.