Umm qais is one of the largest historical tourist sites in jordan. Uncover the rich history of umm qais and the grecoroman ruins that are located in what was once the heart of this hilltop village. Umm qais is about 25 km from irbid and 110 km from amman. The current and most widelyused name, umm qais, is arabic for mother of qais, a modified pronunciation and spelling of the roman name caius. The ruins are impressive and the scenery around is spectacular. Our favourite historical places in jordan that arent petra days. At the gadara site, the umm qais resthouse offers not only sweeping views over the ruins and the middle east but excellent seasonal cuisine. Umm qais or qays is a town in northern jordan principally known for its proximity to the ruins of. Go off the beaten path on this 10day itinerary covering israel and jordans holy land. Did you catch my last travel diary from amman, jordan.
The ancient town of gadara was ruled by a series of powerful nations, including the ptolemies, the seleucids, the jews and, from. Established in 2010, the yarmouk nature reserve spreads over a small area 20 square kilometres of the hills beside umm qais. Private day trip to jerash, umm qais and ajloun castle from amman. We recommend booking umm qais museum tours ahead of time to secure your spot.
It is where you can pick up a book and kick back for hours slowing down to the pace of the village, eating organic delicious traditional meals and soaking in the village vibe. Explore umm qais holidays and discover the best time and places to visit. Land use change at the historical tourist attractions of umm qais. Umm qais in antiquity gadara umm qaysthe decapolis. Join a local guide on an englishspeaking tour of the grecoroman city, the ottoman village, and the museum of gadara. Because of the location there are great views of israel, syria and jordan from here. The second hall is dedicated to statuary, mostly from the roman period. In the first hall, various ceramics dating from the hellenistic up to the islamic periods are on display, along with finds from the tombs at umm qays. Ein escort guide macht ihren besuch in jordanien einzigartig. Web guide, including informative photo tours with interactive maps and special presentations of venues, sites, events. Explore the fascinating ruins of umm qais, one of the most brilliant ancient grecoroman cities.
The decumanus maximus is the paved and colonnaded long street in ancient ummqais, it is the main thoroughfare, which divided gadara into two areas, small northern one, and big southern part. Contemporary art, art history, architecture, design, cultural heritage. Pdf assessment of visitor management at the archaeological site. Jordan roman ruins of jerash, umm qais and the ajlun. Umm qais museum all you need to know before you go. Discover the grecoroman ruins at jerash, seeing its oval colonnade, temples, and more. Amman to umm qais 2 ways to travel via bus, and car. Bed and breakfast beit al baraka, umm qays, jordan. Historical tour of jordans ancient sites umm qais and pella isango. The site is striking because of its juxtaposition of roman ruins with an abandoned ottomanera village, as well as its tremendous vantage point, with views of three countries jordan, syria, and israel and the palestinian territories, encompassing the.
If possible do not short change yourself and stay here a couple of day to hike to the hot springs or learn about bee keeping or stoneworking to help restore umm qais. The modern town of umm qais is the site of the ancient grecoroman town of gadara, one of the cities of the decapolis and, according to the bible, the place where jesus cast out the devil from two men into a herd of pigs matthew 8. Book your tickets online for umm qais museum, umm qais. The museum, which is located in one of the houses in the ottoman village of umm qays, composed of two exhibition halls. Umm qais s history umm qais is mentioned in the bible as the location where jesus performed the miracle of the gadarene swine. Mother of qais is a town in northern jordan principally known for its proximity to the ruins of the ancient gadara in some texts gedaris, also a former bishopric and present latin catholic titular see. Use our jordan trip itinerary planner to plan your trip to umm qais and other destinations in jordan.
Gadara also known as gadara was a city of the ancient decapolis, today near modern town umm qais, jordan. Umm qais museum 2020 what to know before you go with. Umm qais, situated 110 km 68 miles north of amman on a broad promontory 378 meters above sea level with a magnificent view over the yarmouk river, the golan heights, and lake tiberias, this town was known as gadara, one of the most brilliant ancient grecoroman cities of the decapolis. The modern name, umm qais, means mother of qais in arabic. A stones throw from the ruins of umm qais, you will be sorry if you do not stay with muna, and the families with baraka. Visit umm qais museum on your trip to umm qais or jordan. Rising 518 meters above sea level with views of lake tiberias and the golan heights, there is no better vantage point in northern jordan than umm. I went in a shared taxi a 2 hour drive north of amman. Umm qais is close to both syria and israel, so check your governments travel advice before booking a tour. The driver was great friendly, fun, accommodating, shared knowledge and was flexible to allow us to take advantage on of our time there, giving us.
Called gadara in the greek and roman times the present day ruins of umm qais are worth a visit, if only for the views. Umm qais travel northwestern jordan, jordan lonely planet. In the northwestern corner of jordan, in the hills above the jordan valley, are the ruins of the decapolis city of gadara, now called umm qais. The ottoman village on top of part of the ancient city was acquired by the department of antiquities who now has several excavation and conservation projects at the site. Rome2rio makes travelling from amman to umm qais easy. Towards the syrian border in jordan, north of amman, you find some astonishing remains from roman times and an important muslim castle. Umm qais is the recent name of ancient gadara, it had been mentioned in the late sixteenth century in the ottoman tax records as mkes, which means in the arabic language a frontier station for gathering taxes. With jerash and petra being the obvious historical sites when visiting jordan. Tourism has been a part of umm qaiss history and identity for more than a. It is situated in the extreme northwest of the country, where the borders of jordan, israel and syria meet, perched on a hilltop 378 metres above sea level, overlooking the sea of tiberias, the golan heights and the yarmuk gorge. If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. Brief history of umm qais after the death of alexander the great in 323 bc, gadara was founded by the ptolemies as a frontier station on their border with the seleucids to the north gader is a semitic word meaning boundary. Subcategories this category has the following 6 subcategories, out of 6 total.
In the northwestern corner of jordan, in the hills above the jordan valley, are the. History of umm qais lonely planet travel information. Umm qais travel guide what to do in umm qais rough guides. In this video we visit the roman ruins of jordan which includes umm qais and jerash. The site was home to the ancient city of gadara which was well located on the trade route between syria and palestine. Wild flowers carpeted umm qais when i visited this spectacular mountainous site in april 2016. Overlooking the river yarmouk, which marks the border between jordan and syria, it protects a swathe of deciduous oak forest 85 percent of jordans surviving cover, along with two species of. We did umm qais and jerash as a day trip from amman, and highly recommend doing both, but definitely do umm qais gadara first. Housed in a renovated 19thcentury building, the museum stores items traced back to the roman, byzantine, and ottoman periods. Though its not as well known as jerash, gadara is a must for history buffs.
Minibuses run from irbid but it is much easier to get to by car, with ample parking. Umm qais is a sleepy village with deep historical roots as one of the decapolis cities of roman times, and incredible views of the golan heights, the sea of. Find all the transport options for your trip from amman to umm qais right here. Explore northern jordans historical highlights on this private, fullday jerash, ajloun, and umm qais tour from amman. Take in views of the sea of galilee, golan heights, and syria from umm qais museum, housing artifacts that span several empires. Umm qais museum 2020 all you need to know before you go.
The umm qais museum is located at about 2 12 3 hours drive from amman. Present day umm qais has within it the remains of one of the ancient decapolis cities, the grecoroman settlement of gadara. Wild flowers of umm qais umm qais museum, umm qais. Rome2rio is a doortodoor travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. Umm qays gadara, built using stunning black basalt stones, was one of the cities of the decapolis, planned with a roman city layout.
Hi there, we use cookies to improve your experience on our website. Vaulted passageway supports its rows of seats, built of hard basalt stones. Umm qais trip planner plan your umm qais trip itinerary. The two roman remains are of the roman cities gadara umm qaisqays and gerasa in the modern town of jarashjerash. It was the home of several classical poets and philosophers, including theodorus, founder of a rhetorical school in rome, and was once called a new athens by a poet. These were used in the arabisraeli war of 1967 and were kept in use for the years after the war.
Rome2rio displays up to date schedules, route maps, journey times and estimated fares from relevant transport operators, ensuring. Umm qais the site of the famous miracle of the gadarene swine, gadara was renowned in its time as a cultural center. The town is situated on a ridge, which falls gently to the east but steeply on its other three sides, so that it was always potentially of strategic importance. Likewise, the site draws a contingent of palestinians wanting to see their homelandat a height of 378 m 1,240 ft, umm qais affords sweeping views over the disputed golan heights, as well as jordan and israel. A large portion of the western roman theater has survived history s upheavals.
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