UMM QAIS                                                                                   See Map        Umqais
Of incomparable importance amongst the Decapolis
is  Umm Qais , Known in antiquity as Gadara. It has 
little  remains  of   the  Hellenistic  period  but  some
Nabatean  finds indicate that they too were in Umm
Qais  briefly  in  the 1st  century  BC . Gadara  was 
especially  noted  for  the richness of its intellectual
life.  It had  a flourishing  school  of  philosophy and
poetry.  There  were  two large theaters at Gadara,
of which the smaller western one better preserved.
It  is  built  of  black  basalt  and  accommodated  an 
audience  of  3.000.  Beside  the  theater stand  the 
columns of a Byzantine church built on the site of a
Roman Temple, and further west is a bath complex.
Gadara  commands  magnificent  views, the Sea of 
Galilee (lake Tiberius) and the Golan Heights.

PELLA
Pella  is  one  of the  most  ancient  sites in  Jordan. 
There  is  ample  evidence  of   human  occupation 
during the earlier Hellenistic, Persian, Iron, Bronze,
Chalcolithic,  Neolithic and Paleolithic periods. Pella
was among  the largest cities in the region, one of
the  Decapolis  and a  flourishing trade center. The
terrible  earthquake  of 747 AD  destroyed the city.
Most of the visible structures date from the Roman,
Byzantine and Islamic periods (2nd to 14th century
AD).  During the  Abbasid and Mamluke periods the
site  continued  to  be occupied, but  it was a much
smaller and more rural community.

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