About This Location
Jerash is one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy. Its ancient name was Gerasa, and it was one of the ten great Roman cities of the Decapolis.
The city's golden age came under Roman rule, during which time it was known as Gerasa. The city is now generally acknowledged to be one of the best-preserved Roman provincial towns in the world. Hidden for centuries in sand before being excavated and restored over the past 70 years, Jerash reveals a fine example of the grand, formal provincial Roman urbanism that is found throughout the Middle East, comprising paved and colonnaded streets, soaring hilltop temples, handsome theatres, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains and city walls pierced by towers and gates.
Beneath its external Graeco-Roman veneer, Jerash also preserves a subtle blend of east and west. Its architecture, religion and languages reflect a process by which two powerful cultures meshed and coexisted.