The Roman Cities of Jordan

At 7:30 we were off to Pella where we saw the civic complex church and excavation areas III, IV and XXXII.
We saw the Jordan Valley with views of the Golon Heights (Israeli occupied Syria), Israel, and the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberius).

At Umn Qais (or Gadara), we had a great guide, Umn Qais is one of the cities of the Decapolis and, according to the Bible, the place where Jesus cast out the devil from two men into a herd of pigs. During the early part of Roman rule, the Nabateans (with their capital at Petra) controlled the trade routes as far north as Damascus. Aiming to put an end to this competition, Mark Antony sent King Herod the Great to weaken the Nabateans, who finally gave up their northern interests in 31 B.C.. In appreciation for his efforts, Rome rewarded Herod with Gadara. The city remained under Herod’s rule until his death, and then reverted to semi-autonomy as part of the Roman province of Syria.

Today, a huge portion of the original Roman amphitheater has survived. Next to the theater is a colonnaded street that was once probably the town’s commercial center. Also near the black basalt theater are the columns of the great Basilica of Gadara.

It was interesting to see views of Israelis farming on Syrian land in the Golon Heights. They were building a huge recreation center at the hot springs. We also saw blown bridges from the 1967 war.

Then we were off to Jarash (Gerasa). They had just filmed the American movie, “Mortal Combat” there. Jarah is one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy.

We saw Hadrians Arch, South Roman theater, Temple of Zeus, Church of St George, Church of St John the Baptist, Temple of Artemus, North Theater, Cardo, and the Decumanus.

We drove back to Amman and were dropped off in city center. We tried to find a place to get a beer. First, we tried to get into “Sully’s Pub/Jordan style” but were stopped at the door--- NO WOMEN!

They sent us upstairs to Auberge Bar where we caused a minor stir.
We had dinner at the “Jerusalem Restaurant”—a typical Jordanian meal- “mensaf”.
After dinner, all the women in the street had disappeared. According to our driver, they werehome preparing for Ramadan. He also told us about his six children - "3 clever ones and 3 donkeys!")