The Great Temple is situated in the city center, east of Qasr al-Bint and south of the Colonnaded Street. This is a view from near Petra Church, looking south and west from the rise across the Colonnaded Street. In spite of its name, it is not at all certain that the Great Temple was actually a temple. Its upper terrace may have started out as an audience or meeting hall, afterwards converted into a council chamber (bouleterion) with the addition of a theatre. Its lower terrace, surrounded by its roofed colonnade, could have been a forum (every good Roman town had to have one) and a space for public assemblies and ceremonies.