Jerash - the Roman City
The next morning, we got up and walked to the bus station. There, we took a bus up to Amman and then caught a taxi to Jerash. Jerash is now known as one of the best preserved Roman ruins in the entire world. We arrived shortly before 11:00 AM and went inside. Right near the entrance is the hippodrome, the place where the Romans had gladiator fights and chariot races. There is a show put on twice a day that demonstrates how the Roman army did battle. There are also gladiator fights and the show finishes with a chariot race. The entire show is narrated in english by a young "soldier". It was very entertaining and was very well done.
After the show, we walked the main thoroughfare of the Roman city, checking out the sites as we went. Although in ruin, the sites were left the way they were found, and many of them are in great condition. Along the main road there are several Roman columns, and there are several temples to the various gods of the time. At the end of the main thoroughfare is one of the two theatres in town that were used for plays, music, etc. We then headed up to the temple that overlooked the entire city for some great views.
We grabbed some lunch at a buffet style restaurant in the ruins before heading back to Madaba. We had a flight to catch at 8:00 that evening and we wanted to get to the airport with plenty of time.
