Oval Plaza — Attraction in Jarash

The Oval Plaza of Jerash is one of the most iconic landmarks in this Decapolis city being its shape quite unique in the ancient world. The plaza was built during the first century AD.

Upon arrival to the plaza from the South Street, look for the first few columns to the right for they have Greek inscriptions (see review image). The fountain in the center also has the eastern side carved likewise with another Greek inscription (see review image). You can also distinguish two water pipelines radiating north-wise and northwest of the fountain (see review image).

You can get an splendid panoramic view of it from the Temple of Zeus above or from the hill to the East of the plaza. To start the climb to the Temple of Zeus, proceed by going up the stairs of...

Leaving the visitor’s center, one of the first things we encountered was the Oval Plaza.

This is an expansive public square, paved with intricate patterns of limestone and a border of columns. The sheer size makes it almost impossible to capture it's size in a photo! The symmetrical layout and size of the plaza itself was striking.

Even after centuries of weathering, the limestone paving stones and columns still possess artful detailing that dazzled us modern visitors.

We felt awed by the Oval Plaza and the glimpse it reveals into Jerash's past prominence and the architectural prowess of Roman...

Oval Plaza

One of the most impressive squares of antiquity. The oval shape is unique and was chosen to harmoniously connect two axes that meet at an angle: the newer one of the Roman Cardo (the long colonnaded street) with the axis of the older Sanctuary of Zeus.

The square itself with the Ionic columns was built at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. The paving was done later and was very complex, because a 6 to 8 m high substructure had to be built to compensate for...