UMM QAYS
Umm Qays is a spectacular destination, a combination of
Ancient Graeco-Roman ruins intertwined with houses of an Ottoman Village. Many
o the structures of Umm Qays are built with black basalt stone, giving the city
a grand and unique feel.
During the time of the New Testament, northern Jordan was
the region of the Roman Decapolis (meaning “10 cities” in Greek).This is the
place where Jesus taught the people about the Kingdom of God and performed his
miracles.
The old Decapolis city of Gadara (modern –day Umm Qays) boasts
spectacular panoramic views overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It is here that
Jesus performed the miracles of the Gadarene swine, casting spirits out of a
demented man and into a herd of pigs, which then ran down the hill into the
waters of the Sea of Galilee and drowned.
A rare five aisled basilica from the 4th century
was recently discovered and excavated at Umm Qays. From the interior church;
one can spy a Roman Byzantine tomb over which the church was built. Such as
distinctive architectural arrangement strongly indicates that it was built to
commemorate the very spot where the Byantine faithful believed that Jesus
performed his miracle.
A visitor standing at junction of Syria, Israel and Jordan
can enjoy a stunning view of Lake Tiberius and The Golan Heights.
Evidence of the Nabataeans at Petra was already dwindling
and when Christianity spread across the Byzantine Empire, Petra became the seat
of a bishopric and a monument was converted to a church –the Urn Tomb. Recent
excavations have exposed 3 churches, one of them paved with coloured mosaics.
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