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Um Qeis, Pella &
| The Jordan Valley |
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In addition to Jerash and Amman, Pella (now known as Tabaqat Fahil) and Gadara (now Um Qeis) were once Decapolis cities, and each has unique appeal.
Um Qeis, or Gadara - site of the famous Gadarene swine - was renowned in its time as a cultural center. It was the home of several classical poets and philosophers, including Theodorus, founder of a School of Rhetorics in Rome; one poet called the city "a new Athens." Perched on a splendid hilltop overlooking the Jordan Valley and the Sea of Galilee, Um Qeis boasts an impressive colonnaded terrace and the ruins of two theaters. You can take in the sights and then dine on the terrace of a fine restaurant with a breathtaking view of three countries. Pella is a favorite of archaeologist - it is exceptionally rich in antiquities, some of which are exceedingly old. Besides the excavated ruins from the Greco-Roman period, including an Odeon (theater), Pella offers visitors the opportunity to see the remains of a Chalcolithic settlement from the 4th millennium BC, the remains of Bronze and Iron Age walled cities, Byzantine churches and houses, an Early Islamic residential quarter, and a small Medieval Islamic mosque
