We used one one of our days in Amman to explore a bit further afield, and hired a driver to take us to the sites of Umm Qais, Ajloun Castle and Jerash (pictured below), which had free entry for us as we had bought the Jordan Pass.
Umm Qais, by the Syrian and Israeli borders, is the furthest away from Amman, so we headed there first. Two hours later, we had arrived at the hilltop town of Umm Qais. Historically it's said to be where Jesus performed the Gadarene Swine - an exorcism - and it's also where the ancient Greek city of Gadara was.
There's a small museum which houses some of the various artefacts that have been excavated there over the years. And you can also see the Sea of Galilee in Israel from the site. Umm Qais was quite important during the Syrian Wars, and a lot of conflict has taken place there with the Romans, Arabs and Ottomans over the course of the last two thousand and odd years. A fascinating place to explore.
Our next stop was a a bit more recent in history, but still dates all the way back to the 12th Century. Ajloun Castle is a hilltop Muslim castle which was able to defend itself against the Crusaders because of its location. But it was partly destroyed by the Mongols later on, and in more modern times it was two earthquakes in 1837 and 1927 that caused damage to it. We spent the least amount of time here, and it was out least favourite of the three - had a great view though!
We needed lunch, so we were taken to Green Valley Restaurant in Jerash. They brought out lots of mezze, a few different meats, breads and what not, which were all tasty. Came in at 33JOD (about £38, total), which is on the inflated side, but it's the sort of thing that happens on these kind of days. It was a late lunch as the timings don't really work well but, again, one of those things.
Jerash, the biggest of the three sites and our fave of the day, was the final stop. You could easily spend just the day there, in all honesty, but it was nice to explore more of Jordan and see some of the important sites in the north of the country. It's been inhabited for over 6,500 years, so there's lots of history there, and it's another place where Jesus did an exorcism.
The Roman and Byzantine ruins are classed as some of the largest and best preserved in the world. And this includes columns aplenty - as you can see! - the Arch of Hadrian (yep, the Roman Emperor who visited Jerash in the year 129), as well as the Temple of Artemis.
A great day exploring the north part of Jordan! x
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