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HOW TO GET THERE

Allow around l½ hours to get from Amman to Pella or Umm Qays via Irbid. A good idea is to start by exploring Jerash and its magnificent ruins then continue north.

By car or taxi:
From the Sport City interchange in Amman, head northwest past Jordan University.

By bus:
JETT, tel. 5664146, offers a regular service in air-conditioned coaches from Amman to Irbid. Hijazi, tel. (06) 4651341, offers services every fifteen minutes. Trust International, tel. (06) 5813422, offers services from Aqaba to Irbid departing each of the two cities at 08:30h and 15:30h.
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Gadara became one of the most important cities of the Decapolis, it had minted its own coins, and depended the pompean calendar.

During the early years of Roman rule, the Nabataeans controlled the trade routes as far north as Damascus. Unhappy with the competition, Mark Anthony dispatched King Herod the Great to weaken the Nabataeans. In appreciation for his efforts, Rome rewarded Herod with Gadara.

Islam entered Gadara after the victory of Islamic troops over Byzantine armies at the Battles of Fahl (Pella) and Yarmouk in 635 AD and 636 AD

The first literary reference to the city of Pella is from the 19th century BC when it is mentioned in Egyptian texts as Pihilum, or Pehel. It was a flourishing trade center, with links with Syria and Cyprus as well as Egypt.

Like many of Jordan's ancient cities and monuments, the cities of Umm Qays and Pella were destroyed during the terrible earthquake of 747 AD.