The ancient Roman ruins of Jerash are truly an impressive site. We spent a morning wandering among centuries old ruins, imagining ourselves enjoying watching a chariot race in the Hippodrome or stolling down the column lined Cardo, (read avenue) pictured to the left. Passing through Hadrian's arch, in honor of a visit by the Emporer Hadrian in 129-130, you pass by the Hippodrome, where contests such as horse racing, athletics, and other entertainments occurred. Proceding onward, you find the Forum, a large oval space surrounded by beautiful ionic columns. It is thought that this was a gathering place for commerce and perhaps also social, political and religious gatherings. The Temple of Zeus Olympus is located on the southern hill of Jerash, and you walk down the
car
do from the Forum to get there. It's a beautiful structure, with a panoramic view of the new city of Jarash in the distance. From the Temple of Zeus, we walked to the North Theatre, making a side trip to the smaller Southern Theatre along the way. It's easy to get lost among the old ruins, but everywhere yo
u look are students and archaeologists at work, so there's always someone to steer you in the right direction. In the North Theatre we were treated to an unusual sight: bagpipes! There was a band with two pipers and two drummers playing and they immediately struck up Yankee Doodle Dandee when they found out we were from the U.S.! We had spent most of the morning in Jerash. As we were leaving, flocks of tourists were entering the ruins and all I could think of was how hot they would be. I was grateful that we had made our tour of the ruins in the morning before the real heat of the day. Even so, it was hot and dry inside the Roman ruins, and we welcomed the chance to sit down in a shady restaurant just outside and enjoy a cool fruit juice and a meal.
The ancient Roman ruins of Jerash are truly an impressive site. We spent a morning wandering among centuries old ruins, imagining ourselves enjoying watching a chariot race in the Hippodrome or stolling down the column lined Cardo, (read avenue) pictured to the left. Passing through Hadrian's arch, in honor of a visit by the Emporer Hadrian in 129-130, you pass by the Hippodrome, where contests such as horse racing, athletics, and other entertainments occurred. Proceding onward, you find the Forum, a large oval space surrounded by beautiful ionic columns. It is thought that this was a gathering place for commerce and perhaps also social, political and religious gatherings. The Temple of Zeus Olympus is located on the southern hill of Jerash, and you walk down the
car
do from the Forum to get there. It's a beautiful structure, with a panoramic view of the new city of Jarash in the distance. From the Temple of Zeus, we walked to the North Theatre, making a side trip to the smaller Southern Theatre along the way. It's easy to get lost among the old ruins, but everywhere yo
u look are students and archaeologists at work, so there's always someone to steer you in the right direction. In the North Theatre we were treated to an unusual sight: bagpipes! There was a band with two pipers and two drummers playing and they immediately struck up Yankee Doodle Dandee when they found out we were from the U.S.! We had spent most of the morning in Jerash. As we were leaving, flocks of tourists were entering the ruins and all I could think of was how hot they would be. I was grateful that we had made our tour of the ruins in the morning before the real heat of the day. Even so, it was hot and dry inside the Roman ruins, and we welcomed the chance to sit down in a shady restaurant just outside and enjoy a cool fruit juice and a meal.
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