Northern Jordan contains many magnificent historic locations including that of Gerasa, today’s Jerash, that is one of the most well-preserved metropolises of ancient Rome.

Gerasa had its economic and cultural high season in the first century A.D. while under Roman rule. Situated on a small hill, the Temple Of Zeus was built in the years 162 and 163 A.D.

The town developed quickly within the union of the Greek Dekapolis, a federation of ten important ancient cites in the Near East and profited from the agriculture of the surrounding area and from ore mining in the nearby Aljun Mountains. This financial success gave rise to the city’s large building projects, particularly in the second century A.D.

A further remarkable feature of the architecture in Gerasa is the wide and eight hundred metre long street, the Cardo Maximus, once the city’s main street. It was originally flanked by columns, five hundred of which have survived.

Directly south of the Artemis Temple are the remains of the Sankt Theodor Church that has the three aisled ground plan of a basilica and dates back to the fifth century.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Gerasa was rediscovered by archaeologists. The twentieth century brought with it new excavations that have since returned this amazing ancient city into the full light of day.