We arrived in the modern town of Jerash to explore its ancient part, Gerasa. The imposing Hadrian’s Arch marks its boundary. The ruined city of Gerasa is Jordan’s largest and most interesting Roman site. Its imposing ceremonial gates, colonnaded avenues, temples, and theatres...
The castle commands views of the Jordan Valley and three wadis leading into it. It is an essential strategic link in the defensive chain against the Crusaders and a counterpoint to the Crusader Belvoir Fort on the Sea of Galilee in present-day Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This...
We followed Google to the Ajloun Forrest Reserve Visitors Centre, which was a huge mistake. We ended up on steep, narrow streets in the middle of Ajloun, so we had a tough time driving through and finding the correct direction. After arrival, we found out that the only available unguided...
We took a scenic drive from Umm Qais to Pella, near the modern Arab village of Taqabat Fahl. It was one of the cities of the fabled Roman Decapolis. It’s essential to archaeologists because it reveals evidence of 6000 years of continuous settlement. Many of the ruins are spread out...
We spent a night in the northwestern corner of Jordan, in the hills above the Jordan Valley, where the ruins of the Decapolis city of Gadara are now called Umm Qais. The site is striking because it juxtaposes Roman ruins with an abandoned Ottoman-era village. It also has a tremendous...
We arrived in stormy and windy weather at the Umm Al-Jimal near the Jordanian–Syrian border. An extensive rural settlement in the lava lands east of Mafraq. The incredible ruins are located on the edge of a series of volcanic basalt flows that slope down from Jebel Druze, providing high...
We overnight close to the “Monastery of Caves,” a purpose-built Roman fort in the 4th century. The fort primarily served as a sentry post. Like its famous neighbor Umm Al Jimal, Dayr Al Kahf is also constructed of black basalt, though the scattered ruins here are not nearly as...
A tiny sealed road leads to the tree under which the Prophet Muhammad is said to have rested when traveling between Damascus and Mecca. Despite the surrounding desert, a semi-permanent water pool persists here in a depression surrounded by black lava stones. Its unmissable feature is the...
This small Roman fort, built from basalt in the 3rd century over the ruins of a 1st-century Nabataean building, is between Azraq and Safawi. We do not know why, but the 10km access road stops about 1km from the hilltop fort. The graded track thereafter is not passable by car. Anyway, the...
We drove through dusty Azraq in cloudy and windy weather to the imposing fort where T.E. Lawrence and Sharif Hussein bin Ali based themselves in the winter of 1917–18 during the Arab Revolt against the Turks. Lawrence set up his quarters above the southern entrance while his loyal...