Jerash and other Jordan Things to Do Tips

The spectacular ruins of a Roman town from the 1st century AD, Jerash is the highlight of any trip to northern Jordan, approximately 50kms north-east of Amman. Settlement is dated from approximately 200 BC (original name Gerasa), but it grew in size and importance under the Romans as the regional trade links passed through (the very same trade links that saw the decline of the Nabateans and Petra). But the boom only lasted 100 years or so, and the city was all but decimated by the 747 AD earthquake and remained virtually forgotten about for almost 1000 years.

That man Buckhardt (the Swiss explorer who introduced Petra to the modern world) was shown the ruins by a local Bedouin and Jerash has been on the tourist run ever since.

Amazingly, it's suprisingly under-devloped for tourism. Hotels in the town are few and far between and some distance from the site. Transport whilst relatively frequent does not faciliate much in the way of long stay (last bus back to Amman is 6pm) so most trips to Jerash tend to be day trips out of Amman.

(See separate Jerash page)

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Directions: About 50kms north-west of Amman

To the north east of Amman and Jerash, Ajloun is a historic town dominated by the Qala'at ar-Rabadh, built overlooking the town and the surrounding countryside. Believed to have been built on the site of a Christian monastery (home to the monk Ajloun), the fortress was built in the late 12the century by an Arab general in direct response to the Crusaders threat at Karak and, across the Jordan Valley, Belvoir. It has been rebuilt several times since, as a result of invasion as well as earthquakes. It's been rebuilt so often that it's difficult to find your way round the place, but the highlight is definately the views over the valley floors below.

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Madaba is a small town about 30 kms south east of Amman and is, in its way, the start of the King's Highway (the KH does run onto Amman but Madaba feels more like the beginning/end as from here on in it becomes more built up). The town is most famous for its superb mosaics, most of them dating from the Byzantine period. The most famous of all is to be found in the little unpreposing St George's Greek Orthodox Church: the 6th century map of Palestine (small fee payable).

As with Petra and Jarash, Madaba became a fairly important town but which was then destroyed by earthquakes and abandoned. The mosaics were discovered at the end of the 19th century. There's a lovely little museum which houses a number of mosaics on walls, a wonderful (and large) floor mosaic as well as a Roman street.
About 10kms to the west is Mount Nebo, one of the sites claimed to be the tomb of Moses. Another superb mosaic is to be found here as well as (apparently - the weather was not very clear when we were there) a superb view of the Jordan Valley.

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Driving south from Madaba to Karak is a fairly arduous journey. Roads are good but plenty of twists and turns to keep you alert. Wadi al Mujib, approx midway between Madaba and Karak is spectacular - even on a day where visibility is limited (hence poor quality of photos). The road rises and then simply drops away. At the beginning of the northern slope there is a viewing platform. There is no public transport across the valley. It's some 500 metres deep and, at its widest, 4 kms wide.

Note that there is major works going on in the valley below (the building of a dam). Heavy trucks have destroyed the road on the southern slope (as well as the valley floor). The steep incline, hairpin bends, heavily laden trucks make this one of the most hair-raising drives imaginable. This will be the case for a couple of years.

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Sitting atop the fertile Moabite plateau is the important Roman/Byzantine settlement of Rabba. The surrounding countryside is completely flat and the town is surrounded fields of wheat. Seeing the shape of the trees on the King's Highway as you enter and leave the town, I assume it can pretty windy here.

There's not much to the town, but with the remains of a Roman Temple on the side of the Highway, you can do worse that stop off for 30 minutes to check it out.

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If you are driving from Amman to Petra, Karak is a good overnight stopping off point (its approx half way). You can drive the whole journey in one go but its worth taking time and experiencing the landscape and the small towns you drive through. The landscape after Wadi al-Mujib is much more spectacular, with wide vistas, stunning valleys etc and very fertile.

A Biblical town (Kir, Kir Moab and Kir Heres), most of what we see now is from the Crusaders time. Most of the town is to be found inside the old walls (although the bus station and some hotels are to be found straggling the Kings Highway 450 metres below) and is protected by the Crusader Fort. Built in 1132, what is left of the fort is a jumble of walls (impressive but mostly renovated or undergoing renovation) and cellars/cisterns. But on a pretty huge scale you can spend a good hour or so wondering through the many pathways cut into the hillside at different levels).

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Approximately 10kms out of Karak is another impressive and deep gorge a few kms after Karak. It's quite a fertile, gentle wadi on first entering, following, as it does, the stream. But the road climbs several hundred feet of open, exposed rock, with a distinctive black rock - an extinct volcanic plug and a sacred spot to Nabateans - dominating the southern end of the wadi.

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Heading towards Karak along the King's Highway, the scenic road is spectacular - and much greener than anticipated (although it is grazing land of the local bedouins rather than agricultural). You just want to keep on stopping every few kilometres!!

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Although it has no specific tourist attractions, Tafila is a town full of atmosphere, clinging as it does to the hillside looking down the valley towards the Dead Sea. Its well worth stopping off and walking through the fairly busy main street.

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An incredible place. A tiny village lying half way down a valley that could be very easily missed (I have a photo where you cannot distinguish the village from the surrounding rocky landscape) several hundred metres below the road. A village that has reinvented itself. It virtually died on itself until the introduction of eco-tourism. Now the village is the centre of eco-hikes into the valley (as far as the Dead Sea) as well as local crafts (silver, jams, teas etc) and a great Government Rest House.

The local Government Rest House is the place to arrange eco-treks into the valley - from 30 minutes to 2 days.

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