Jerash – Will we ever Know?

Samer, the little boy sat on one corner of the mound atop a large rock watching intently as the archaeologists brush away the dust from what appeared to be a column. Multiple cracks ran parallelly along its filigreed length but the structure is more or less intact. He could feel their excitement even from afar. He knew history was being made in discovering a lost history.

Over half a century has passed since those days when Samer kept going back to the site again and again. Every time wondering what else remains beneath. Even today as he and many like him who work as local tour guides at the lost world of Jerash wonders will they ever know. The question is will the world know? It is said over 50% of the ancient city remains hidden.

Jerash known as the ‘Pompeii of the Middle East’, is one of the best-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy. The city has been the silent witness to the rise and fall of historical periods since its first settlement during the Neolithic era around 7500 BC.

Your visit to Jerash will transport you to the time when the clip-clop sound of the horses mounted by mighty soldiers resonated in the air, when the strong smell of the spices wafting from the shops lining both the side of the street mingled with the hawker’s cries tried to draw the attention of the locals and when the chanting of the high priests from the majestic temples could be heard echoing against the gigantic columns only to spill out into the ears of the passersby.

In the past Jerash was not just a city. In the present Jerash is not just a ruin. Jerash forever will be an emotion that has been passed down for centuries. The ruins of Jerash are a perfect time capsule. Here the past and present are intricately woven into each other and you can never separate the two.