The decumanus maximus continues west of the main site for 1km or so, leading to some ruins of limited interest, including baths, mausoleums and gates. Japanese and Iraqi archaeologists are currently excavating here. Most interesting is the basilica built above one of the Roman mausoleums. You can peer into the subterranean tomb through a hole in the basilica floor. The sarcophagus of Helladis that once lay here can be seen in the Museum of Anthropology & Archaeology in Irbid.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
22 MILES
Dominating the Old City’s skyline is the lantern-topped cupola of this Franciscan-run Roman Catholic basilica, an audacious modernist structure that’s…
14.64 MILES
Beit She’an’s extraordinary Roman ruins are the best place in Israel to get a sense of what it was like to live, work and shop in the Roman Empire…
16.85 MILES
Since at least the 4th century, this landscaped hillside is believed to be where Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), whose opening…
15.52 MILES
In 1986, when the level of the Sea of Galilee was particularly low, a local fisherman made an extraordinary discovery: the remains of a wooden boat later…
23.07 MILES
This historic castle was built atop Mt ‘Auf (1250m) between 1184 and 1188 by one of Saladin’s generals, ‘Izz ad Din Usama bin Munqidh (who was also…
28.85 MILES
Dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of hunting and fertility and the daughter of Zeus and Leto, this temple was built between AD 150 and 170, and flanked by…
19.66 MILES
Both casual strollers and experienced hikers – especially those who aren’t averse to getting wet – will find plenty to engage and challenge them in…
29.1 MILES
Whatever the light and whatever the weather, the forum, with its organ-pipe columns arranged around an unusual oval-shaped plaza, is always breathtaking…
Nearby Umm Qais attractions
0.25 MILES
Still paved to this day, the main road through the site once linked Gadara with other nearby ancient cities such as Abila and Pella. In its heyday, the…
0.26 MILES
This public water fountain, once a two-storey complex with a large covered cistern, has niches for statues of the water goddesses.
0.32 MILES
West along the decumanus maximus are the overgrown public baths. Built in the 4th century, this would once have been an impressive complex of fountains …
0.32 MILES
This viewpoint offers tremendous vistas over Israel and the Palestinian Territories across the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights.
0.37 MILES
The shells of a row of shops remain in the western section of what was once the colonnaded courtyard of the Basilica Terrace.
0.39 MILES
A bit of imagination is needed to reconstruct the colonnaded courtyard of the Basilica Terrace, the western section of which housed a row of shops. The…
0.4 MILES
Entering Umm Qais from the south, the first structure of interest is the well-restored and brooding West Theatre. Constructed from black basalt, it once…
0.45 MILES
In the northwestern corner of Jordan, in the hills above the Jordan Valley, are the ruins of the Decapolis city of Gadara (now called Umm Qais). The site…