Vaulted Gallery

Jerash


The vaulted passageway under the courtyard of the Temple of Zeus is a good starting point in Jerash's ancient city. When your eyes become accustomed to the gloom, you’ll see a superb display of columns, pediments and masonry carved with grapes, pomegranates and acanthus leaves. This is the place to brush up on the three main column styles: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.

Take a look at the model of the Temple of Zeus, as it will help to recreate the ruins in your mind later.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Jerash attractions

1. Temple of Zeus

Built in AD 162 over the remains of an earlier Roman temple, the Temple of Zeus was once approached by a magnificent stairway leading from the temenos …

2. Lookout

0.01 MILES

Near the South Theatre, this viewpoint offers a panorama of the forum and beyond – one of the first opportunities to truly take in the size of Jerash.

3. Forum

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Whatever the light and whatever the weather, the forum, with its organ-pipe columns arranged around an unusual oval-shaped plaza, is always breathtaking…

4. Upper Temple of Zeus

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Though most of it has collapsed, this temple has imposing 15m-high columns that are some of Jerash's most dramatic. The thick walls of the sanctum still…

5. South Gate

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Two hundred metres north of the hippodrome is the imposing South Gate, which was likely constructed in AD 130 and originally served as one of four…

6. South Theatre

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As you enter the South Theatre through a wooden door between the arches, there’s little to suggest the treasure encased by the plain exterior. But then…

7. Museum

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Before you finish exploring ancient Jerash, visit this compact museum and visitor centre just above the forum. It houses a small but worthwhile selection…

8. Agora

0.11 MILES

On the western side of the cardo maximus is the agora, where people gathered for public meetings around the central fountain.