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Arch of Hadrian at the southern entrance to Jerash

North Jordan

Jerash

One of the best-preserved Roman cities outside Italy – temples, theatres and a colonnaded street almost a kilometre long.

  • Included in the Jordan Pass

Ancient Gerasa flourished in the 2nd century AD, when Emperor Hadrian visited and a triumphal arch was built in his honour. You enter through that arch and walk past the hippodrome into the unique Oval Plaza, framed by 56 Ionic columns.

From there the Cardo Maximus runs north past shops, the Nymphaeum fountain and the great Temple of Artemis, whose columns still sway slightly in the wind. The South Theatre seats 3,000 and has perfect acoustics – bagpipe players from the Jordanian army often perform there. In July the Jerash Festival brings music and poetry back to the stones.

Don't miss

  • Hadrian's Arch (AD 129)
  • The Oval Plaza and Cardo Maximus
  • Temple of Artemis
  • South Theatre acoustics
  • Hippodrome and Nymphaeum
Arch of Hadrian at the southern entrance to Jerash The colonnaded Oval Plaza in ancient Jerash Oval Plaza of the Roman city of Gerasa in Jerash Ionic columns encircling the Oval Plaza in Jerash Oval Plaza at Jerash, one of the best-preserved Roman cities Hadrian's Arch, the triumphal gateway of ancient Jerash

Tours that visit Jerash

Getting around

Private transfers, drivers and guides that cover this area.

Nearby

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