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Outside the city walls are two well preserved Roman
tombs in a hollow on the left just after the turn off
from the main road. With inscriptions the first belongs
to Quintus Publius Germanus and his relative Aulus
Germanus Rufus and the second belongs to Lucius Sentius
Modestus.
Just by the car park is the North theatre, this semi
circular theatre is the largest one, its remains are
still visible in the hillside (next to the museum); but
most of its stones were stolen for re-use in the ottoman
village.
Follow a well-paved path towards the site and after
about 100m steps will lead you up to the terrace of the
rest house which offers a relaxing retreat overlooking
Lake Tiberius (Sea of Galilee). You may enjoy a view
from indoors or outdoors, on the large open terrace. For
more information contact the Rest-house: 00 962 2
7500555.
Steps leads down from the rest house to the Basilica, an
impressive Byzantine church complex which makes a
striking use of the contrasting colours of the black
basalt and white limestone. The complex consists of a
plaza and colonnade. A central octagon of columns capped
with Corinthian capitals taken from a temple preceding
the church, supported the roof of the Centralized
Church. Around the church is a circular passage way
symbolizes the passage from the earthy to the heavenly
realm.
South of the basilica is the west theatre the most
graceful feature of Gadara built from black basalt. A
row of elaborately carved seats for dignitaries stand
near the orchestra, and in the centre was a large
headless marble statue of Tyche, now displayed at the
local museum. At sunset you can enjoy the gorgeous view
from the upper rows of the seats.
Behind the orchestra is a side street intersected with
the main street, The Decumanus Maximus which was paved
and a Roman sidewalk existed in this area. Along the
street there is a row of vaulted shops.
The Nympheaum, a fountain with basins and niches,
usually decorated with marble statuettes, is located on
the Decumanus, near the intersection of the two main
colonnaded streets [cardo and decumanus] and across the
Terrace. This sacred monument believed to have been
dedicated to the ancient water goddesses.
Ruins of a Bath Complex, dating from the 4th century,
can be seen by merging left into a small dirt road some
100 meters from the intersection of the Colonnaded
Streets. You can also access its lower parts from a dirt
road across from the West Theatre. Just as typical Roman
baths, it had hot, warm, and cold rooms, as well as a
room for changing. It apparently went out of use in the
early 7th century.
About 250m further along the decumanus, in the fields to
the north is another very over grown bathhouse according
to an inscription it was built by Gadarene nobleman
named Herakleids, it fine mosaics are now in the museum.
North-east of the baths little left of the north
mausoleum, once a fine building on a podium.
About 200m south of the colonnaded street is a large
unexcavated structure known locally as al-Qasr 'the
castle'. |
