On my last visit to Petra, I enjoyed visiting its new museum. Japan provided a grant of $7m, and the Japanese architectural office Yamashita Sekkei formed a spectacular modern design. Its galleries present about 300 objects, of which 50 are presented to the public for the first time. Additional artifacts will be given on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

My favorite gallery, a big round hall, presented some 20 Classical-style sculptures and capitals. This display best reflects the wealth of Petra in Nabatean and Roman times. I also enjoyed the computer-generated imagery that suggested the creation of the iconic Al-Khazneh monument. My only complaint (which I mentioned to the chief curator) is the incomplete translations of the ancient Nabatean, Greek, and Latin inscriptions on display. As a former numismatist, I hope the museum improves its display of Nabatean coins. I also hope they will add to the display the famous Petra Papyri, found in 1993 in a Byzantine-era church in Petra.

A tour of the new museum can be combined with a tour of Petra.