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Umm Qais
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- Name
- Umm Qais
- Continent
- MIDDLE-EAST
- Alt Name:
- Gadara
- Country:
- Jordan
- Period:
- Ancient Rome
- Sub-Region:
- -
- Date:
- 100BC - 1BC
- City/Town:
- Umm Qays
- Figure:
- -
- Resorts:
- Irbid,
- Related:
- Petra , Church of the Nativity,
Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
about Umm Qais
Present day Umm Qais has within it the remains of one of the ancient Decapolis cities of the Greco-Roman era named Gadara.
Probably established by the Greeks in the 4th century BC, Gadara was taken by the Seleucids and, in 63BC, by the Romans led by Pompey. It would later fall under the remit of King Herod. At its peak, Gadara was a creative and intellectual hub, home to famous poets, mathematicians, philosophers and poets.
For Christians, Gadara is also said to be the site where Jesus performed the Gadarene swine miracle.
Today, Umm Qais still has remnants of Gadara including a theater, churches, shops, a nymphaeum, baths, and paved roads. One interesting part of the sites in Umm Qais is that many of the structures, such as the theater, were made out of black basalt. There are also Byzantine ruins on top of the Roman ruins.
With rolling hills of Jordan, Syria, and Israel and Lake Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee), Umm Qais is also very picturesque.
Just as empires rise and fall so do entry fees and opening hours! While we work as hard as we can to ensure the information provided here about Umm Qais is as accurate as possible, the changing nature of certain elements mean we can't absolutely guarantee that these details won't become a thing of the past. If you know of any information on this page that needs updating you can add a comment above or now.
contact details
Address: Umm Qais, Jordan
Phone: Contact local tourist office
useful information
Directions:
Located approx 30km northwest of Irbid, 120km northwest of Amman.
Ticket Information:
Museum open daily in summer 8am-5pm, in winter daily except Tuesdays 8am-4pm.
Links:
http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/tourism3b.html
http://www.visitjordan.com/default.aspx?tabid=176
http://research.haifa.ac.il/~mluz/gadara.folder/gadara2.html#hist
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