Walking through this city that thrived thousands of years ago and was lost until recently is amazing. Even more awesome is knowing there are remains from earlier civilizations underneath this one yet to be excavated!

HISTORY
In these Jordanian mountains is one of the largest ancient Roman cities, Jerash, often called the "Pompeii of the East" . It was first built by the Romans in 63 B.C.

In the 2nd century BC, Jerash was conquered by Alexander the Great, who built many of the structures I see today.
 
Remains from civilizations during the Bronze and Iron Ages have been uncovered here.

It is one of the best preserved cities in the Middle East! It includes mosaic-floored churches, grand temples, amphitheaters, public squares, bath houses, marketplaces and colonnaded streets with sculptures and fountains. Colonnaded simply means surrounded or supported by many columns. In my photos you will see many columns.

There is a large arch of triumph with 3 doorways just outside the ancient city. It marked the visit by Emporer Hadrian in 129-130 A.D. This is the way I finally entered the ancient city.
 
BIBLICAL IMPORTANCE
The Bible speaks of the mountains of Gilead. They are about 30 miles from Amman, the capital of Jordan.

The great days of Jerash (then called Gerasa) came during the rule of the Romans . In the first century B.C., it became part of the Roman province of Syria. Eventually it joined the league of 10 cities formed by the Romans called the "Decapolis".
 
Decapolis was mostly pagan in the time of Jesus. But many of the people from there followed Him during His ministry in Galilee according to Matthew 4:23-25.

The city later became Christian (in the Byzantine period). There were about 25,000 citizens then and they built over 20 churches. Ruins of most of the churches can be seen now.

There is no mention that Jesus visited Gerasa (Jerash) itself, but Mark 7:31 talks about Him being in the region.

OLD JERASH
This ancient city was hidden, buried in the sand, for centuries. Then, in 1806, it was discovered. Excavation on the city began in 1925 and continues today!
 
The excavation revealed a formal and sophisticated Roman city with elegant colonnaded streets, spacious plaza, baths, fountains, grand theaters and impressive temples .

The colonnaded street, 1/2 mile long, called a 'cardo', runs through the ancient city. A 'cardo' was the Latin name given to a street that ran north-south in ancient Roman cities.
 
The Cardo was lined with shops and a broad sidewalk. There was even an underground sewage system that ran the full length of the street.
 
The huge Oval Plaza seems to be the center point of this old city. It is a Roman Forum. The Roman Forums were the center of daily activities such as trading and socializing. Important buildings and theaters were built around the forum. 

The Forum is still paved with its original stones and bears the ruts of chariot wheels. The Forum is surrounded by columns from the 1st century. This was the focal point for the entire city. Built in 1 A.D., it is a large circular plaza surrounded by 160 columns.
 
From the Forum there is a set of stairs that goes to the Temple of Zeus built in 162 A.D., over the ruins of an earlier Roman temple .
 
The temple was built on one of the highest points in the entire city. Supposedly this temple was the most beautiful temple of ancient Gerasa (Jerash) with marble paneling and richly decorated statues. It is one of the greatest monuments left of this ancient city.

Halfway up the stairs to the Temple is a tremenos (sacred courtyard) where sacrifices were made at the open-air altar.
 
Then, from the courtyard more stairs climb to the Temple. This was a magnificent, monumental stairway in it's day, surrounded by 45 foot high columns!
 
On the way up the stairway to the Temple is where I got a great panoramic photo of the Forum from above.
 
After the Temple of Zeus, I walked along the Cardo to the South Theater. It seats more than 3,000 people and is still used for concerts.
 
The South Theater is known for it's amazing acoustics. A person can stand in the arena of the theater and be heard by everyone, without speakers or amplifiers!
 
I went to the very top seats and got some photos of the arena below . You can see in the photos how small a person in the arena looks from there. But, amazingly, can still be clearly heard! 
 
Further down the Cardo I found what is called a hippodrome. It was built in the 2nd century to use for horse and chariot races and other sporting events.
 
It has a seating capacity of 15,000. I was planning to see a reenactment of the Roman Chariot Races, with gladiators and everything. But, it has recently been discontinued because of the drop in tourism due to the terrorists attacks in the region in the neighboring countries.

Decline
Both Persians and Muslims conquered the city in the 7th century. Finally, the city was abandoned in the 8th century following a catastrophic earthquakes in 746 A.D. It was buried in sand until it was discovered in the early 1800's. It was preserved exceptionally well after being buried for hundreds of years.
 
Modern Jerash
A city wall separates the old and new Jerash. The new city is developing away from the old city in order not to encroach on it and to help preserve it.

NEXT: "Seeing The Promise Land"