This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

Roman columns remains of the ancient city of Jerash silhouetted against the sky
The many columns of Jerash

Jerash

Often not part of classic Jordan travel tours, while Jerash is a must-visit.

Roman arch dedicated to Emperor Hadrian in Jerash
Hadrians Arch is immediately at the beginning of the archaeological area

Even the hour-long drive to get there from Amman was fun. The 15 bus(collective minivan) leaves when it is full. A little in and a little out of the door is a guy who organizes the ups and downs, calling for example who is next or asking those who are still far from their stop to move.

The name of the ancient Roman city was Gerasa. Having been buried for centuries by desert sand, there is much left, beginning with Hadrian’s Arch.

Wide colonnade surrounding the forum in Jerash, Jordan
As you can also see in evidence the view offered by the forum the colonnade and the wide avenue are truly remarkable

Undoubtedly spectacular is the cardo maximum with many of the columns still in place, and the forum also still with many columns.

The sly Italian

I walked around the remains of ancient Gerasa with guy from Pordenone. An interesting character, who like me gives himself goals like seeing all 7 wonders of the world and had already 2 times used airfare to go around the world, though without completing it.

Roman amphitheater in Jerash, virtually intact, seen from above
The amphitheater is also spectacular large and almost intact

I found it disreputable, but also always interesting how he had had all that time to be away. He had sold the designs of the Italian company he worked for to a Chinese company. Yeah he was just one of those people who allow China to copy and produce cheaply what we create in our country.

That evening I took him to eat at a place that I had particularly enjoyed the day before in Amman and where they only gave hummus with freshly baked bread.

Musicians in traditional Jordanian garb, at work on stage at Jerash's Roman amphitheater
These musicians in traditional Jordanian garb took advantage of the excellent acoustics but lets just say that the music was not of my kind

Amman, home base for the trip to Jordan

I didn’t dislike Amman at all either, although in fact the deserving area is tiny for a capital city. Many people ignore it on a trip to Jordan; in my opinion it deserves at least half a day and an evening. It was there that I began to get the buzz of smiling welcomes in Jordan from so many I passed on the street.

In addition, the Jordanian capital is a good starting point for other trips.

Home trip Welcome to Jordan (and Israel)

Previous stop Middle East trip, war alert

Next stop Bathing in the Dead Sea and bidding a Dutchman

A lizard sunbathes on a rock in the ancient Roman city of Jerash
The simple life of this little lizard resting on ruins that have existed for centuries

Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent

Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives

Countries visited in my travel stories

newsletter strange things traveling

Hey, ciao 👋
Piacere di conoscerti.

Iscriviti per ricevere contenuti fantastici nella tua casella di posta, ogni settimana.

Non inviamo spam! Leggi la nostra Informativa sulla privacy per avere maggiori informazioni.

author avatar
Fabio Viroli
Ho sempre avuto tante passioni, ma da sempre più o meno latenti, le principali sono viaggiare e scrivere. Tra le altre cose ho una laurea in psicologia; ho fatto per più di 30 anni l’allenatore di basket; leggo tanti libri; sono stato molto appassionato di sport e di musica rock; e faccio improvvisazione teatrale