Jerash - Roman Ruins Abound

Today we continue the ancient Roman adventures with a trip to Jerash. Built in the Hellenistic period and then repurposed by the Romans, Jerash was a large, primarily trade city of approximately 35,000 people. The site is quite expansive. Two temples, an amphitheater, a Byzantine church, streets and gates have all been recovered and restored. 

Upon arrival at ancient Jerash, you pass the walls of the old town and through the first Hadrian Arch built 129AD. 

First stop was the hippodrome where chariot races and gladiator fights were held. Until the Arab Spring about 10 years ago, there were re-enactments performed by locals apparently in Latin. I’m super bummed we didn’t get to see a race or battle. I was all ready to vote thumbs up or thumbs down for he end of the gladiator match. Thumbs down for no longer having re-enactments (the best kind of enactments). 

Onwards through the inner gate takes you to the central plaza. Here is the only evidence of the Hellenistic period - the smaller stone at the centre of the plaza. The Romans used larger stone to expand the plaza during their repatriation of the site. 

Upwards we stopped for a taste of pink peppercorn right off the vine. Not too hot and almost a little sweet!

The fist temple was dedicated to Hercules. Each column is made of several pieces weighing up to 13 tons each. But they were assembled with space at the base of the column to allow it to move with the wind and the ground. When the catastrophic earthquake of 759 AD struck, the giant columns remained standing. 

Either three birds bound and upside down, or I super fail the ink blot test. 

An unusual sound was coming from the amphitheater... bagpipes! King Abdullah trained with the military in the UK and brought home the military pipe band custom. So a small band of bagpipes and drums played Scottish favourites for the tourist crowd in the ancient Roman amphitheater in the Middle East. A memorable culture clash!

Look what’s in my giant ear! Tiny bagpipe band. 

From the amphitheater we walked up to the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damianus for a glimpse of the amazingly well preserved mosaic tile work. In times of Roman religious persecution, Christians had to practice their faith in secret. They allegedly used images of fish and cows to secretly indicate their true beliefs. Most Christian religious services we held in caves outside the city gates. 

Next up was the temple of Artemis - goddess of the hunt and virginity. We learned that when a god was depicted naked, they were not a virgin and usually were representing sexual prowess or fertility. When clothed, a god was virginal. Hence Hercules always had his bait and tackle out while Artemis was dressed in flowing robes. 

Marble was a rare and valuable rock. Nothing of the original statues remain in the alcoves. 

Here the columns have found another use as small sparrows have made homes out of the cracks and holes in the rock. 

There was a reconstruction of a hydraulic stone saw machine. The water powered saw is the earliest machine in the world found to date (550 AD). 

Down from the temple along the east road was the main market road and north gate.

The ceiling of the gate. 

All the columns were cut from local limestone. Some have inscriptions that can easily be read and others have weathered in beautiful patterns. 

Here’s a lizard I chased around!

And extra creepy millipedes that chased me around. Eek!