Jerash revisited - around the back

[onlyMark]

It was a nice sunny day, the grass was growing, the birds were singing and we decided to have a walk around Jerash again. The site is quite massive and normally you tend to walk down the main street taking in what you can and then re-trace your steps back to the main entrance. This is what we’ve done several times when showing round visitors. We thought we’d do a bit of a circle around the back parts though where nobody seems to set foot apart from long lost archaeologists.

One of the previous visits is detailed here -
anyportinastorm.proboards.com/thread/5424/jerash

The entrance fee for non-Jordanians currently stands at 8JD (about 8 Euro). Children under 15 years old are free and for Jordanians and residents it is half a dinar. We showed our resident visas, the girls are just 14 so it cost us the grand total of 1JD.

On the following map the ride line is our route staring from the south and following is a key as to the main buildings and places. A lot of in-depth information can be found but if you want to know a little more then have a quick peruse through this page. It gives quite a good overview –

www.atlastours.net/jordan/jerash_map.html




1. Hadrian's Arch
2. Hippodrome
3. City Walls & South Gate
4. Oval Plaza
5. The Cardo "Colonnaded Street"
6. Macellum
7. Umayyad Mosque
8. South Tetrapylon.
9. South Bridge
10. Umayyad Houses
11. The Cathedral
12. Church of Saint Theodore
13. Nymphaeum
14. Propylaeum
15. Temple Esplanade
16. Propylaeum Church
17. Naghawi's Mosque
18. West Baths
19. North Tetrapylon
20. North Colonnaded Street
21. North Gate
22. North Theatre
23. Church of Bishop Isaiah
24. Temple of Artemis
25. Three Churches
26. Church of St. Genesius
27. Saints Peter and Paul Church
28. South Theatre
29. Temple of Zeus
30. The Museum

[onlyMark]

We made our way through the horde of souvenir shops at the south entrance, past the Hippodrome, Temple of Zeus and then cut a left up the hill past the South Theatre. A quick look back at it shows how well preserved it is though the pre-fab building and WC arrow tend to detract from its appeal –




We looked back down the hill towards the main street and then a little further on the route of it becomes more clear –






We headed towards a church, the St Peter and Paul Church –

[onlyMark]

I noticed the sign, one which seems to be a bit hidden away and I suppose never really seen –




The question is, who is Gerald W. L. Harding?
It seems he was “a British archaeologist who was the Director of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities for twenty years.”
His ashes are actually at Jerash. More here –

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Lankester_Harding

A little further on is another church, the Church of St. Genesius –




All you need to do is brush away a thin level of dirt to reveal a mosaic –






I suppose the funds aren’t available to excavate this properly and preserve it. I am always amazed by the amount of archeological sites in the region that, due to funds, remain open to the ravages of time and weather.

[onlyMark]

Anyway, a look ahead –










To our left we are at the very top wall of the complex –




As has happened for thousands of years, the shepherd and his flock are free to take advantage of the new spring growth. It matters not that this is a world renown site –

[onlyMark]

Off to our right, back towards the main street, we see one more of the at least fifteen Byzantine churches found so far in Jerash. This one is the Church of St. Cosmos and St. Damian, twin brother doctors who were martyred in the 4th century.




We’ll get there in a minute, but on the way we come across the result of what happens when there is an earthquake, one that happened in 749AD and devastated the region, and then earth/dust covers up the remains. Obviously someone has discovered this but it’s not been excavated further –




Close by is this jumble of ruins, also one of the churches –




Numerous decorative pieces just laying around –




As we approach the Church associated with the twin doctors we have a look back the way we have come. Our path is way over to the right skirting the boundary, to the far left as the land slopes away is the south theatre and temple of Zeus –



The church is famous for its mosaics, my poor photo doesn’t do it justice, there are many better ones out there –

[onlyMark]

We cut further around the back and see still a lot of areas where some work has been done but there is still a long way to go –








We come towards the top end, the north end and see behind the north Theatre –




This was the Church of Bishop Isaiah, built in 559 AD. Just peeking through in the distance is the North Gate –








We move around the theatre, to the east and the new town, and take a look back to it –

[onlyMark]

We eventually reach the North Gate, built in 115AD -




Then take a look back to the south along the old and hardly used street, it was never widened as with the main southern street –




We now make our way through the old baths, an area of 50m by 70m and various other structures –

[onlyMark]

Then we cut back on to the main street looking to the north end –




We finish off following mostly this street until we return back to the beginning. We at least managed to avoid most of the tourists for quite a while –






Bye for now.

[bjd]

Hi Mark, nice to see you back and with photos to boot.

I was surprised to see everything so green, then saw that the pics were taken in springtime.

I hadn't realized the Byzantine Empire had extended so far into the Middle East.

[onlyMark]

Hi bjd.
I think Amman was nearly the furthest east of the Byzantine Empire but it did stretch south all through Egypt.
Photos taken in the Spring and hopefully Santa will bring me at last a better camera. Fingers crossed.

[htmb]

Hi, Mark.
It's pretty amazing that you could walk all over the site among the ruins. Just imagine what hasn't been uncovered!
Your photos are really interesting. The detail in the last mosaic you posted seems quite complete.

It's hard to grasp how old it all is.

[onlyMark]

The panorama photo on reply 3 shows a vast area that hasn't been dug into at all. I know there were more churches in that location and probably other buildings, but it's the old story of time and money I suppose.

[Deleted]

Looking at all of the "rubble" i.e. unrestored remnants, I am struck at how much of it looks like the condition of many European cities after the two most recent wars and which have been totally rebuilt and restored, or even the temples of Angkor in Cambodia which have been put back together from similar jumbles of stone. That would seem to indicate that if Jordan ever finds the desire (and of course the money) to so some serious restoration of places like this, they could become far more spectacular than they currently are.

Even as just untouched ruins, it is still a stunning sight.

[mich64]

It must frustrate yet fascinate archeologists who visit but can not uncover more of the history hidden just under the surface let alone what you show in plain sight.

Would interested archeologists be welcomed or discouraged these days?

[onlyMark]

I understand there are many Universities and archeologists more or less queuing up to have a go ant some of the places in Jordan. We went to Jerash again last week and there were several small areas being dug over, but just one or two square metres, nothing of any great significance. Archeologists are still welcome but I think the Jordanian Antiquities authorities are relying more and more on them paying all the cost themselves rather than it being shared. Jordan is not a cheap country by any stretch of the imagination and probably anyone thinking about it feels they can get 'more bang for their buck' in other places.

[Deleted]

Very fascinating and like HTMB said difficult to grasp just how very old it is.

[mossie]

Very nice to see you back Mark. And showing part of an area which still holds a strange fascination for me even after 60 years. I suppose I became "sand happy" as we called it.

[onlyMark]

Hi Mossie, nice to see you are still around. Sand happy? You and me both.

[nycgirl]

Very impressive ruins. Not too many tourists, either. For awhile, I had the impression that you were the only ones there.

[onlyMark]

There were still several hundred people there but they tend to be coach tourists that walk up and down the main street for half an hour, tick it off their list and then go home. Jerash is big enough that we know where to go to avoid them.