It is a depiction of the Al-Khazneh temple in the historical city of Petra, Jordan, which Church visited during an extended trip to the Middle East and Europe in 1867 and 1868.

Church found the site "astonishing" and wrote in his diary of a "beautiful temple ... shining as if by its own internal light",[1] which he described as a salmon color.

The composition is unlike those of the paintings that had made Church famous; there is no panoramic view, no conveyance of a "greater whole", and little sense of depth.

[2] The narrow passage has a stream running through it, and the two Bedouin figures at left, barely discernible, provide a sense of scale.

As Church wrote: We went straight to the famous Khasné, first as being the best of all the temples at Petra—I saw it, was astonished and then deliberately opened my three legged stool, sat upon it, opened my sketchbook, spread out the paper, sharpened the pencil, took a square look at the Temple and an askant one at the Bedawins and made my first line—they made no motion and after a few rapid touches, I felt that the mystery was solved in my favor—I could sketch without let or hindrance, a freedom unaccorded before.