Jerash

Jerash is known as the “Pompeii of Asia” because it is so well preserved owing to the desert air. The site existed from Neolithic times and was settled in the reign of Alexander the Great; however it is largely a Roman creation being one of the Decapolis. The 13m arch into the city was built to mark the visit of Emperor Hadrian. At its peak it has a population of approximately 20,000 but was destroyed by an earthquake in 747. It remained virtually uninhabited until the arrival of Circassians from Russia in 1878, when its importance was quickly recognised.

Only about 30% has been excavated to date and part lies under the current new town. Special rules are in place for development in the modern town to maximise preservation. Our guide was a former Jordanian CID officer who spoke good English, having spent time at a language school in Oxford in the 1970s, meeting his English wife while there.

After a long day on the road and enduring the Thursday night Amman traffic, we had our best meal to date in Amman at an Armenian restaurant. At the table next to us was a large Armenian family group, including five Armenian priests of whom two were bishops.