© Richard Randall

JERASH

After Petra, Jerash is the major attraction in Jordan, it is 51 km north of Amman. Jerash is in the Gilead Hills on the road to Ramtha which leads to Syria. It is an amazingly well preserved example of a Roman provincial city, probably the best example in the Middle East. Jerash lies on the east bank of a small tributary of the Zarqa River, it is populated by Circassians who were settled there by the Turkish authorities. The main ruins of Jerash are found on the west side of the stream, they were discovered by a German traveller, Ulrich Seetzen. Restoration began in 1925 under the British Mandate, with the first excavations carried out three years later. Before that the city was buried underneath the sand, which explains the good condition of most of the buildings. The excavations found two theatres, temples, churches, a marketplace, baths, and an unusual oval shaped forum. Restoration work continues on various areas of the site, and whilst we were there, there were several man hard at work hoping to unearth more treasures. It was quite busy but not unbearable so, we were able to explore the site and take lots of photo's without any trouble. Jerash has had an interesting past from its heyday with a population of around 15,000, to its prominence at the time of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. After the Roman general Pompey's conquest of the region in 63 BC Jerash became part of the Roman province of Syria and then a city of the Decapolis. The following two centuries saw trade with the Nabataeans flourish and the city became extremely wealthy. The 1st century AD saw a typical colonaded main street, intersected by two side streets. Emperor Trajan's presence in 106 AD saw the annexation of the Nabataean kingdom, with more wealth in Jerash, many of the buildings were replaced by more impressive ones. In 129 AD the Emperor Hadrian came and stayed for a while, to celebrate the presence of his visit the Triumphal Arch at the southern end of the city was constructed. It was at the beginning of the 3rd century when Jerash was bestowed with the rank of Colony that the city reached its peak before its decline. There was a brief respite during the reign of Diocletian circa 300 AD, with a mini building boom. Christianity had become the major religion by the middle of the 5th century and churches were constructed everywhere. Under Justinian 527-565 AD seven churches were built, most of them were constructed using stones taken from earlier pagan shrines and temples, after 611 no more churches were built. The Persian invasion of 614, and then the Muslim conquest of 636, combined with several earthquakes in 747, were too much for Jerash to withstand and its population shrank to less than 25% of its original number. There was a very brief occupation in the 12th century by a Crusader garrison, but apart from that the city was completely deserted until the Circassians arrived in 1878. In 1925 the first steps toward conservation and restoration of the area began and continue to this day.

The ruins at Jerash were among the most impressive we have seen during our many travels. The Triumphal Arch was the first site we saw, its height was amazing, and to think that when it was originally built it would have stood twice as high. The Hippodrome would have originally held roughly 15,000 spectators, with the pitch measuring 244m by 50m hosting athletic competitions and horse races. The South Theatre would have housed 5,000 spectators and was built during the 1st century. The Nymphaeum was the main ornamental fountain in the city, and a temple built to the nymphs in 191 AD, two storey and elaborately decorated with marble slabs on the low level. Water would have cascaded over the facade into a large pool at the front with the overflow from this going out through carved lions heads down to the drains in the streets below. The most impressive building on the site is the Temple of Artemis dedicated to the patron goddess of the city. There was so much to see at Jerash, and the whole site really was in fantastic condition. Apart from the few buildings mentioned we also saw, the Forum, the Temple of Zeus, a 4th century Cathedral, the Church of St Theodore which was built in 496 AD, the Viaduct church, and the remains of the 6th century Church of Bishop Isaiah, and so much more. There was also a Museum exhibiting artefacts from the site including, pottery theatre tickets, glass, Mamluke coins, jewellery, and the main attraction at the museum was the gold jewellery and coins which were found in a family tomb near to the Triumphal Arch. We spent a few hours walking round the site before taking the bus back to Amman. From Amman we headed to Kerak by bus.

KERAK

Kerak is situated on the routes of the ancient caravans that travelled from Egypt to Syria. We stayed for just one night but we did manage to find time to look round the castle. The Citadel Qasr dominates the town and is one in a long line, stretching from Aqaba in the south up to Turkey in the north, by the Crusaders. From Kerak we headed back to Aqaba to get the ferry back Nuweiba Egypt.

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SYRIA ... Not For Us!

Whilst we were in Jordan we had thought we might go to Syria for a while as we were so close. We were told this was not a problem at that time, all we had to do was go to the Syrian embassy in Amman, and get ourselves a visa. Simple. Excellent. We took a taxi to the Syrian embassy, and waited in line with a few other people to get our visa. Not so simple. When it was our turn to speak to the lady behind the glass we were asked where we were from, and once we had told her, the U.K. she said NO! We asked her why, and she just said she wasn't issuing anyone with our passports a visa for Syria. Well that was that cleared up then!

Apart from not getting to visit Syria, our trip to Jordan was amazing. Jordan is such a lovely country, and the people were so friendly, and as for Petra it really does have to be seen to be truly appreciated.

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