Jerash

Today we visited Jerash, a third century city decimated by invasion and earthquake.  Jerash has the most complete ruins of a provincial Roman city in the world. At its height, Jerash was home to 25,000 people. Theaters and temples were continuously added as the city thrived under the Roman Empire. The massive ruins are spread over a large area divided and crisscrossed by colonnaded streets whose pavements still show the grooves for chariot wheels.

We sat in the seats of the south Theatre, the biggest of Jerashs' three amphitheaters. We were treated to a bagpipe performance of Yankee Doodle Dandy :)

Today Jerash is acknowledged as one of the best-preserved cities of the Roman Empire and has been a member of the Decropolis-a dynamic commercial league of ten Greco-Roman Cities. Here we walked beneath the imposing south gate and made our way up the "Street of Columns" the Roman Cardo, running 600 meters north from the Oval Plaza.