The Hadrian's Arch and other Jarash, Jordan Things to Do Tips

The first thing that you see when you arrive in Jerash is the fantastic Hadrian's Arch. It is also known as The triumphal Arch or Bab Amman.
It was built in the 129 AD to celebrate the visit of the Emperor Hadrian on the occasion of his visit to the city. Originally it was it was more high than today. It has got three arches and the central one is 13 metres high. When it was built all the arches had got a wood door which were destroyed in the centuries...

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The triumphal Arch is a very nice monument and a characteristic of this building is constituted by the garlands of leaves of Acanto sculpted to the base of the pillars. In origin the arch was built to became the principal entry of the town, but the walls of the town, which should have reached it, were never built. So the arch remained isolated to about 450 meters by the walls.
As you can see from the photos, today the arch is under restoration.

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Near the Hadrian's Arch there you can see the ruins of the racecourse.
It was built between the second and the third century AD. Inside it could sit more than 15000 people. It is 245 metres long and 51 metres wide. The building was lodging Atletics competitions and horses' runs. During the Persian invasion in the 7th century it was used to play to pole.

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Walking on the street of the Racecourse you arrive to the South Gate. From this gate came all the people which came from Philadelphia (Amman). This is one of the four gates of the town and they were connected by the walls built in the first century AD. The base of the pillars is decorated with Acanto leaves and niches grooved, like those of the Hadrian's arch. Seeing the furrows left by the passage of vehicles to wheels is possible on the flooring.

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From the South gate you arrive to the monumental area of Gerasa. Here you can find holy buildings and palaces. The residential area is under the modern Jerash. On the left of the South Gate there is a grinds for the oil because probably in this side of the square there was a market.

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When you leave behind you the South Gate, you can see in front of you the wonderful Oval Square. This is the best monument of Jerash and it is very good preservation. It has got an ellittic shape and it is 90 metres long and 80 metres wide and all around the border of the square there are Ionic columns built in the first century AD and over them there is a decorated beam.
The flooring of the square is made with bigs labs made of calcareous stone outside and from littler stones toward the center to give a major idea to the elliptical form.

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In the middle of the Oval Square there are the ruins of square basement. In the Roman time there was probably a monument over it and in the 7th century it was changed in a fountain.
The column that you see nowday is a modern one and over it there is the flame of the Festival of Jerash in July - August.

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From the Forum (the Oval Square) you can see above a hill one of the chief buildings of the city: the Temple of Zeus. It was built over an ancient holy place of the Age of Iron. The ruins of the ancient buildings and the ruins of an old temple dedicated to Zeus built between the first and second century AD are probably under the terrace in front of the temple.
This nice temple was built in the 162 - 163 AD over the ruins of an ancient Roman temple. You can reach it from a big stairs which conduct you in a very big terrace with "temos" with an arcate all around. In the temple there is an altar.
From the temple you can see a wonderful landscape over Jerash.

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Behind the Temple of Zeus there is the fantastic South Theatre. It was the biggest theatre of Gerasa and it was built in the 90-91 AD. Inside it could sit more than 3500 people on the 32 line of seats. Over some seats there was a Greek word to simplify the booking of the seat.
The stage is very nice and it was restored on the example of the theatre of Amman. The theatre has got a wonderful acustic and if you are lucky, you can hear it from a little orchestra that play music for tourists.
One of the best Roman theatre in the world!!!!

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From the South Theatre, following the path above the Cardo Maximus, you arrive to the ruins of some Byzantine Church. Here you can see the Churces of St. George, St. John the Baptist, and SS Cosmos and Damianus. All these churches are one near the others.

The Church of St. John the Baptist has got a circular shape with four columns. The floor of the navate had got a mosaics. Today it is very crashed and over it you can recognize some croxes, men, some Egyptian town and the seasons.

The Church of St. George was consacreted untill the 7th century AD.

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Address: Jerash