Umm Qais

Northern Jordanian ridge village beside ancient Gadara, overlooking the Sea of Galilee and Yarmouk gorge.

Umm Qais stands on a basalt-covered ridge in the far north of Jordan, looking out over one of the most dramatic panoramas in the Middle East: the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) glittering in the distance, the deep slash of the Yarmouk river gorge below, and the Golan Heights rising on the far side of the Syrian border. It is a view that makes the detour here entirely worthwhile, even before you have set eyes on the ruins.

The ancient city was known as Gadara, one of the ten cities of the Decapolis — the league of Hellenistic and later Roman towns spread across what is now Jordan, Syria, and Israel. Gadara was prosperous and cultured: it produced philosophers, poets, and rhetoricians. What remains today is remarkable. The ruins are built almost entirely in the local black basalt, which gives the site a brooding, distinctive quality absent from the pale limestone ruins of Jerash or Amman. The West Theatre, carved into the hillside and still largely intact, could seat 3,000 people; a colonnaded street and forum stretch through the centre of the site; and a grand mausoleum with a white marble sarcophagus stands at the northern end.

What makes Umm Qais peculiar among Jordanian sites is that an Ottoman village was built directly on top of the ruins in the 18th and 19th centuries and occupied until the 1980s. The basalt houses — some still with their carved Roman door frames — were only cleared after the residents were relocated, and archaeologists have been excavating ever since. The Beit Russan complex, the former residence of the Ottoman village mukhtar, has been converted into the site's guesthouse and a restaurant with a terrace that commands that magnificent view. Lunch here — mezze dishes, grilled meats, local wine — with the Sea of Galilee spread below is hard to beat anywhere in Jordan.

Umm Qais is about 110 kilometres north of Amman and 30 kilometres northwest of Irbid, and is most easily visited as a day trip from either city. The viewpoint above the gorge is especially good at dusk, when the light turns the basalt columns gold. Allow two to three hours for the site itself.

Guide

Getting There

Umm Qais lies about 110 kilometres north of Amman and 30 kilometres northwest of Irbid. Most visitors come as a day trip.

From Amman: The most comfortable option is to hire a taxi or join an organised day tour from Amman. The drive takes roughly 90 minutes by the Desert Highway and then north through Irbid. Public buses from Amman's North Bus Station (Tabarbour) serve Irbid; from Irbid's North Bus Station, minibuses run to Umm Qais village. Allow around 2.5 hours total by public transport.

From Irbid: Minibuses and service taxis to Umm Qais depart from Irbid's North Bus Station. The journey takes 30 to 40 minutes. The last return minibus from Umm Qais typically leaves mid-afternoon, so check locally before you commit to arriving late.

By car: Follow the motorway north from Amman to Irbid, then take the road northwest toward Umm Qais. Signs are present from Irbid. Parking is available near the site entrance.

Guide

Things to Do

The ruins of ancient Gadara are the main reason to come to Umm Qais, and they reward a thorough exploration. Start at the West Theatre, the best-preserved structure on site and the natural focal point, then follow the colonnaded street eastward past the forum and mausoleum. The Ottoman-era basalt houses woven through the ruins add a strange layered quality — this was a living village until recent memory.

After the ruins, walk out to the viewpoint on the northern edge of the ridge for the full sweep over the Sea of Galilee, the Yarmouk gorge, and the Golan Heights. On clear days you can see across three countries at once.