Petra was not built after the fashion in which cities are constructed today. Every structure was hewn out of the living sandstone. The city has been called “The Rose Red City, half as old as time,” and this description is perfect. When the sunlight strikes the ruins of Petra, it is as red as blood. Edom, indeed, and Edomites, might well be applied by the ancients to the color and beauty of this old site, as well as to its inhabitants! In plate 27 we have illustrated this manner of carving a dwelling from the living stone in the great structure which the Arabians call El Deir. (See Plate 28.) Observing this photograph, you will note that the rock wall has been hewn away into the shape of columns, pillars, and decorated facade in the similitude of a building that has been put together by the orthodox style of masonry. Such, however, is not the case. Plate 29 shows some of the detail of one of these notable monuments. It will be observed that the workers began from the top and carved their way down. In the upper left corner of the picture a series of holes will be seen. These were chiseled for the foothold of the workers who started the process. Their manner of labor was unique. The architect laid out the size, shape, and site of the building, and the workmen began to cut away the stone about the top of their designated area until they had a recessed trough some ten feet deep into the face of the cliff, on the top and both sides. Then, beginning with the top of the structure, they carved that slab in the similitude of a building. As they worked their way down, they shaped the pillars, carved these brilliant decorations and recessed the cliff on both sides to make their monuments stand forth. Plate 28 shows the result of this type of labor, looking from the bottom upward. Reaching the bottom of their carved columns, these artisans would then chisel away between and behind the posts that they had formed of the face of the cliff until they had a great square entry way. The face of this entry way would be further beautified by carving the semblance of a doorway. A short tunnel would then be run back into the cliff to serve as a hall, and rooms hollowed out on the inside into a series of apartments or caves. “Cave-dwellers,” indeed, is the proper name for these people! Plate 24 [Illustration: The rough approach to Petra (Photo by Matson)] Plate 25 [Illustration: Approaching Petra by way of the main siq the first sight of the ruins]