Jerash

Dating back to the second century AD, Jerash is a spectacularly well-preserved provincial Roman city that was unearthed as recently as the 1920s. The main ruins, lying west of the Zarqa River, include the colonnaded street, the south and north theaters, the Temple of Zeus, and an oval piazza. Jerash also contains 14 churches with fine mosaics from the Byzantine era. Jerash is north of Amman, about halfway between Irbid and the capital, and is billed as one of the nation’s top two attractions–the other being Petra.