Umm Qais — View Over Three Countries★★
Umm Qais (Gadara) — Where Three Worlds Meet
Umm Qais is located in the far northwest of Jordan, on a plateau above the Jordan Valley, offering one of the country's most breathtaking viewpoints: From the terrace of the ancient theater, you can simultaneously see the Sea of Galilee (Tiberias) in Israel, the Golan Heights in Syria, and the Jordan Valley — three countries, one panorama.
The ancient city of Gadara was one of the Decapolis cities and famous for its philosophers, poets, and hot springs. In the Bible, Gadara is the place where Jesus drove demons into a herd of pigs (Mark 5:1–20). The ruins are less spectacular than Jerash, but the location is unbeatable.
Worth seeing: The West Theater (made of black basalt, unusual for the region), the colonnaded street, the nymphaeum, the Byzantine church with its basalt columns, and the small museum in the Ottoman governor's house. Plus: A restaurant with the best terrace in Jordan — coffee with a view of the Sea of Galilee as the sun sets.
