TAKE A WALK THROUGH HISTORY

A walk through Jerash is a journey in time. Enter the city as its Roman inhabitants did, through the monumental South Gate, into the imposing Oval Plaza. Make your way down the Cardo, or "street of columns", and as you step over the tracks of chariot wheels still visible in the paving stones, imagine a group of well people window-shopping beneath a covered sidewalk.
Hadrian's Arch: Built to commemorate the visit of the Emperor Hadrian to Gerasa in 129 AD, this splendid triumphal arch was intended to become the main southern gate to the city; however, the expansion plans were never completed.
Hippodrome: The massive arena, 245m long and 52m wide (only part of which has been restored) could seat 15,000 spectators to watch chariot races and other sports. The exact date of its construction is unclear; between the mid-second and third centuries.
Oval Plaza: The spacious plaza measures 90x80m and surrounded by a broad sidewalk and a colonnade of 1st Century Ionic columns. There are two altars in the middle, and a fountain was added in the 7th Century AD. This square structure now supports a central column, which was recently erected to carry the Jerash Festival flame.
Colonnaded Street: Still paved with the original stones - the ruts worn by chariot wheels still visible-the 800m cardo was the architectural spine and focal point of Gerasa. The colonnaded street was remodeled in the late 2nd century AD, probably after 170 AD. The ionic columns were replaced by more elaborate Corinthian columns. On either side was a broad sidewalk with shops, which can still be clearly seen. An underground sewage system ran the full length of the Cardo, and the regular holes at the sides of the street drained rainwater into the sewers.
Ummayad Houses: At the western end of the South Decumanus is an Early Islamic Ummayad housing quarter inhabited from 660 to 800AD. The south bridge led to the residential quarter and to the eastern gate.
Cathedral: Further up the Cardo on the left is the monumental and richly carved gateway of a 2nd Century Roman Temple of Dionysus. In the 4th century the temple was rebuilt as a Byzantine church, now called the Cathedral (although there is no evidence it was more important than any other church) . At the top of the stairs, against an outer east wall of the Cathedral, is the shrine of St. Mary, with a painted inscription to Mary and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel.

Church of Saint Theodore: Lying above and behind the Cathedral, this large church was built in 496 AD. In between St. Theodore's and the west side of the Cathedral entrance is a small paved plaza with a fountain in the center; this Fountain Court was originally the Cathedral atrium. The course of the underground lead pipe which fed the fountain can be seen as a line of obliquely laid stones northeast of the fountain.
Propylaeum Church: Opposite the Propylaeum, this Byzantine church was built in the 6th century on the site of a colonnaded courtyard which formed part of the processional way. The columns were used as part of the church.
Ummayyad Mosque: On the right, behind four standing Corinthian columns is Jerash's only known Ummayad mosque. This was built in the 7th or 8th Century, using materials from the colonnaded atrium of a Roman house that stood there.
North Colonnaded Street: Beyond the North Tetrapylon is a stretch of the Cardo that was never widened, and retains its simple Ionic columns.
North Theatre: Just off the North Decumanus, the North Theatre was built in 156 AD. In front is a colonnaded plaza where a staircase led up to the entrance. The theatre originally had only 14 rows of seats, and was used for performances, as well as for city council meetings; the names of the tribes represented in the council are inscribed in Greek on some of the seats, along with those of several gods. In 235AD, the theatre was doubled in size to its present capacity of 1,600. Two vaulted passages formed the entrance to the orchestra, and spectators entered through passages between the upper rows of seats. The theatre fell into disuse in the 5th Century, and in later centuries, many of its stones were taken for use in other buildings
Church of Bishop Isaiah: Built in 559 AD, this Byzantine church was used until the earthquake of 749 AD. For the most impressive approach to the Temple Airtimes, return to the Card and walk back down to the propylaeum. Alternatively, follow the path from the North Theatre directly across to the Temple of Airtimes.
Three Churches: At least 15 Byzantine churches have been found in Jerash, and more are thought to remain buried. Three of the finest are grouped around a shared atrium. At the north, the Church of St. Cosmos and St. Damian-twin brother doctors who were martyred in the 4th Century-has the most splendid floor mosaics to be seen in Jerash. An inscription dates the mosaic to 553 AD, and the images include the church warden Theodore with his wife Georgia, praying with widespread arms.
In the center, the church of ST. John the Baptist dates from 531 AD. Its mosaic floor, now damaged, included images of the four seasons, plants and animals, and the cities of Alexandria and Memphis in Egypt. The church of St. George, at the south, was built in 530 AD, and continued to be used after the earthquake of 749 AD. Its mosaics were therefore destroyed when the 8th Century Christian iconoclastic movement banned the representation of humans and animals.
Church of St. Genesius: The floor mosaic of this church dates back to its dedication in 611 AD, just three years before the Persian invasion.

Propylaeum Church: Opposite the Propylaeum, this Byzantine church was built in the 6th century on the site of a colonnaded courtyard which formed part of the proces- sional way. The columns were used as part of the church.
Ummayyad Mosque: On the right, behind four standing Corinthian columns is Jerash's only known Ummayad mosque. This was built in the 7th or 8th Century, using materials from the colonnaded atrium of a Roman house that stood there.
North Colonnaded Street: Beyond the North Tetrapylon is a stretch of the Cardo that was never widened, and retains its simple Ionic columns.
North Theatre: Just off the North Decumanus, the North Theatre was built in 156 AD. In front is a colonnaded plaza where a staircase led up to the entrance. The theatre originally had only 14 rows of seats, and was used for performances, as well as for city council meetings; the names of the tribes represented in the council are inscribed in Greek on some of the seats, along with those of several gods. In 235AD, the theatre was doubled in size to its present capacity of 1,600. Two vaulted passages formed the entrance to the orchestra, and spectators entered through passages between the upper rows of seats. The theatre fell into disuse in the 5th Century, and in later centuries, many of its stones were taken for use in other buildings
Church of Bishop Isaiah: Built in 559 AD, this Byzantine church was used until the earthquake of 749 AD. For the most impressive approach to the Temple Airtimes, return to the Card and walk back down to the propylaeum. Alternatively, follow the path from the North Theatre directly across to the Temple of Airtimes.

Amman          Aqaba         Petra       Jerash      Madaba                             

Wadi Rum      The Dead Sea      Religious Sites     More Sites