The Decapolis, meaning ten cities in
Greek, consisted of ten Greco Roman cities in the land of northern
Jordan, Syria and Palestine.
One of
these cities pella, a short drive north of
amman in the Jordan Valley. It is among the largest and most important
archaeological sites in the region. Most of the visible structures date
from the roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods (2nd to 14th Centuries
A.D.) and there is ample evidence of human occupation during the earlier
Hellenistic, Persian, Iron, Bronze, Chalcoltithic, Neolithic and
paleolithic periods. This huge, ancient city continues to be excavated,
with evidence found of inhabitants dating back as far as 10,000
years.
Of
comparable importance among the Decapolis sites is Um Qais, known in antiquity as Gadara, where the
Ottoman Governor's house has been restored and opened as a museum.
Gadara commands magnificent views over the northern Jordan Valley, the
Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), the Yarmouk River gorge and the Golan
Heights. On a clear day the snow peak of Mount Heron is
visible.
To
the northeast of Gadara lies ancient Abila,
more rural than Jerash and Um Qais, where Roman temples, Byzantine
churches and early mosques lies amidst olive groves and wheat fields.
Excavations indicate that the site was inhabited 5,000 years ago in the
Early Bronze Age, and appears to have been continually used by man since
then.
Contrasting sharply with the splendors of Jerash and the other cities of the Decapolis is
Um el Jimal is one of the area's most
impressive and eerie monuments of ancient civilizations. The town is
filled with the remains of many black basalt stone houses, churches, a
Roman barracks and a fort complex.
A
short twenty minute drive west from Jerash, at the village of Ajlun, is
a remarkable 12th Century A.D. castle on an awesome mountain top, Qala'at er Rabad. It was build in 1184 by Izzedine
Usama, one of the generals of Arab leader salah ed Din
(saladin).
Nearer to Amman is Iraq el Amir, an antiquity
sit dating back to the visitor finds a carefully restored Hellenistic
villa.
The Greco Roman
cities