JERASH....ONE OF THE BEST PRESERVED ROMAN CITIES

Hadrian Gate, Jerash

About an hour drive north of Amman are the ruins from the city of Jerash.

Excavations have found inhabitants in this area in the Bronze Age, prior to 1200 BC.  In 106 AD, Jerash was made a part of the Decapolis, or "10 Cities" under Roman rule in the area.

As with all Roman cities of the time, the site contains a Theater, Hippodrome  for horse races and gladiators, temples, shopping areas, and elaborately fortified gates.

Panoramic View of the City of Jerash from the top of the Theater

Shopping Areas.
240 shops....and no Macy's?

Ginger in the Temple of Zeus

The Nymphaeum Fountain

The Hippodrome

Seven times Seven Step

Temple of Artemis, Goddess of Fertility

Mosaic in the floor of the Three Churches
(St George, Paul and Peter)

From 350 to 600 AD, a Christian community thrived here, with 13 churches being constructed.  Some had intricate mosaic floors.


It is striking to see how the Romans built their cities, and how many they built in this region.  At their zenith, the Romans were a powerful, complex, and surprisingly sophisticated empire.  We learned that this Roman city, as with many others in the region, was succeeded by the Byzantines, then the Muslims, then the Crusaders, and, ultimately, the Ottomans.

There is rich history in these areas.  Common themes in the nations who dominated the Arab regions: they controlled the water supplies, encouraged trade, and had mighty military machines.

After a couple of hours in Jerash, we had lunch at a FANTASTIC restaurant.  Although Ginger and I had had enough of buffets and food (we were eating much more than we do at home), we couldn't resist this one.  The bread was made from a pottery oven.  The house specialty is Musakhan, a thin bread wrapped chicken with unusual spices.  It was delicious!!!

Then, it was off to the Jordan/Israeli border, and a fond goodbye to Omar, our guide, and Mohammed, our driver.

We met with the guide and driver on the Israeli side, who took us to Jerusalem for our last night's stay at the Olive Tree Hotel.