Jerash

Jerash, Jordan

The sun sets behind the limestone columns of the Cardo Maximus in Jerash.

Jerash is a ruined Roman and Byzantine city of colonnades and plazas, an easy day trip north of Amman.

The place

Jerash sits in the hills of northern Jordan, about 48 km north of Amman, and is the administrative centre of its governorate. The modern town has around 50,000 people, with the 2015 count at 50,745, and stands at roughly 600 metres above sea level. Most visitors come for the ancient city beside it, known in antiquity as Gerasa, which is one of the most complete provincial Roman towns in the region. Its main street, the Cardo, runs between colonnades, and the wide Oval Plaza opens at its head. Temples, churches, a theatre, fountains and a hippodrome line the route, so several centuries of building can be seen in a single morning.

The site is easier to enjoy in the cooler months, and the paved route is long enough that a full visit fills most of a morning. Stone columns still stand in long rows, some with capitals intact, others fallen into drums along the verges. Several churches of the early Christian period were built into older temple fabric, and their changing plans make the town a useful place to study how Christian buildings took shape. The modern town sits right alongside the ruins, with houses and shops climbing the hillside and the road threading between them. The atmosphere is busy and lived in rather than sealed under glass.

Its story

Jerash has a history that runs far back before the Roman city most people see today. Archaeologists working at the site have uncovered human skulls from the Neolithic period, around 7500 BC, a rare find, since only a handful of sites worldwide hold comparable remains. Evidence of settlement from the Bronze Age has also turned up in the wider region.

The city's classical identity dates to the Hellenistic period, when it was known as Gerasa and was also called Antioch on the Golden River. Greek inscriptions from the city credit Alexander the Great and his general Perdiccas with its founding, and say that aged Macedonian soldiers were settled there in 331 BC during Alexander's march east through Syria. Gerasa later became one of the Decapolis, a loose group of cities with shared Greek culture.

Under Rome the city flourished. A triumphal arch was raised in 129 AD to mark the emperor Hadrian's visit, and it was planned as a new southern gate. Early Christian communities built churches here, some on the foundations of earlier temples, and the city remained prosperous into the Byzantine era.

The prosperity did not last. In the mid-eighth century a large earthquake, the Galilee earthquake, destroyed much of the city, and later tremors added to the damage. In 1120 a garrison sent by the ruler of Damascus fortified a spot among the ruins, but in 1121 Baldwin II of Jerusalem took it and destroyed it. Afterwards the site lay largely buried until excavation began in the twentieth century.

What to see

Culture

Jerash is a traditional town in a conservative country, and its culture shows most clearly in its festivals. Since 1981 the old city has hosted the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts, a three-week summer programme of dance, music and theatre. The programme draws audiences from across Jordan and abroad, and the evening performances in the ruins give the stone a second life.

A popular highlight is the Roman army display at the hippodrome. Legionaries in full armour demonstrate drill and battle tactics, gladiators perform, and chariots race round the ancient track in a show that is part history lesson and part entertainment. The performances are staged for visitors, so they reflect how the site is presented today as much as how the Romans lived.

Outside festival time the town is quieter and more everyday, with families, shopkeepers and students moving through the streets. Modest dress is expected in town, with shoulders and knees covered, and a scarf is useful for visiting churches and any village mosques. Ask before photographing people, especially women, and do not climb on the columns or sit on the fragile stonework where signs ask you not to.

What to wear

Jerash, like much of Jordan, has a dress tradition built around practicality, modesty and the textiles of the region. Traditional village dress for women is the long embroidered robe, often cut from cotton or lightweight wool, with tatreez cross-stitch embroidery at the neckline and cuffs. Men traditionally wore the loose thobe, a full-length cotton garment, with a head cloth held by a cord. These garments were worn for work, weddings and religious occasions, and older people in the area still wear them on feast days.

In the town today most people dress in modern western clothes, with many women in headscarves and many men in trousers and short-sleeved shirts. The thobe remains common for men at prayer and on formal occasions, and the embroidered dress appears at weddings and family events. Casual wear is the norm across the streets, though conservative dress is the safer choice away from the busier tourist stretch.

For a visit, choose loose cotton or linen that covers the shoulders and knees, since the ruins are open and the sun is strong for most of the year. Bring a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, and wear a light scarf that can be draped over the shoulders for churches or a mosque. The ground is paved with uneven stone and worn slabs, so sturdy closed shoes with good grip matter more than fashion.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. Winter, from December to February, is the most comfortable time to visit, with highs near 30 C and cool nights, though January is the wettest month. The climate is hot-summer Mediterranean, so July and August are very hot and dry, while winter can be cool and occasionally wet.

How long. 1–2

Getting there. Jerash is about 48 km north of Amman. Buses and shared minibuses run from Amman's northern Tabarbour station and from the Sweileh area, and minibuses return from a junction near the handicraft building in Jerash. A private taxi from Amman is the simplest option for a day with several stops.

Budget. low

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources