Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Abila (Quwayliba)
Lying just 10km north of Irbid, between the twin hills of Tell Abila and Tell Umm-al-
Amad, are the ancient remains of the Decapolis city of
Abila
(admission free; daylight
hr)
. At first glance you'd be forgiven for thinking that this site could only be enjoyed by
the committed ruin hunter or the aspiring archaeologist. Indeed, little remains of this once-
great city, especially since the earthquake of AD 747 did a pretty thorough job of turning
Abila into a rock-strewn field.
To date, much of Abila remains largely unexcavated and the site certainly isn't set up
for visitors. Of course, you don't need a guide to find the Roman-Byzantine
theatre
or the
scattered remains of
columns
from the markets, temples and baths lying around the site.
However, if you're looking for a real Indiana Jones experience and have a torch, ex-
plore the eerie
tomb caves
that are carved into the hillsides surrounding the site. At one
point the caves were full of corpses, but tomb raiders stripped them clean over the millen-
nia. However, the spectacular
frescoes
adorning the walls and ceilings are marvellously
intact, and made all the more dramatic by their remoteness.
The Abila site is close to the village of Quwayliba, about 10km north of Irbid. Buses
leave from the North bus station in Irbid (less than JD1, 25 minutes) for Quwayliba; ask
the driver to drop you off at the ruins.
Yarmouk Battleground
If you have a car and are intrigued to know why all roads out of Irbid seem to lead to Yar-
mouk battleground, then follow the signs northeast towards the village of Saham Al Kfar-
at. The site is of great significance to Muslim Arabs as this was where, on the 12th of
August in AD 636, an army of 40,000 Arabs confronted 125,000 Byzantine fighters and
emerged victorious. A lot of blood was spilled that day with 4000 Muslims and 80,000 of
their adversaries killed, and the battleground remains something of a pilgrimage site to
this day.
The signposted road from Irbid leads not to the battleground itself but to a spectacular
viewpoint, high above the Yarmouk River which marks the border with Syria. The battle
took place in the valley below but from this vantage point it's easy to see how the discip-
lined, motivated, mobile and homogenous Arabs, united by faith and good leadership,
were able to overcome the mercenary Byzantine groups. The latter, who had no belief in
the fight, lacked strategy and were ill-disciplined, were particularly disadvantaged by their
