Great Colonnade at Palmyra The western colonnade was the first section to be built. Inscriptions found on some columns confirm that works started before 158 CE. The straight avenue ran in northwest-southeast direction and stretched for , the longest of the three sectors. The main avenue's width was while the side streets were in width. The colonnade's western terminus, the West Gate, was built in the late second-century CE. The avenue also connected in a right angle to the Transverse Colonnade which stretched to the Damascus Gate in the south. The eastern sector of the Great Colonnade started at the Monumental Arch and stretched
Great Colonnade at Palmyra in a northwest-southeast direction towards the "propylaea" of the Temple of Bel. Work on the colonnade started after the completion of the "propylaea" in 175 CE and continued through the beginning of the third-century CE. This section is the widest of the Great Colonnade with a uniform width of for the main street and for the sidewalks. A corner of the "temenos" of the Temple of Nebu was demolished to allow the colonnade an uninterrupted line of sight towards the Monumental Arch from the west and a wider access to the section leading to the Temple of Bel. A "nymphaeum"