Umm Qais, Jordan.
Gadara of the Decapolis.
About 14 kilometres from the Syrian border on Highway 25 you turn northwest towards the city of Irbid and onto Umm Qais. I asked Abu Saleem if it was possible to go into Syria. He candidly replied, "I won't. You, however, can try." Abu Saleem is Palestinian. He has played for the Jordan National Football team in his days. And I'm lucky to have him as my guide.
I'll take his wisdom over my curiosity today.
In the northwestern corner of Jordan, in the hills above the Jordan Valley, are the ruins of Gadara. Gadara was once the capital of the Decapolis. Today the ruins are famous for the well restored black basalt theatre and spectacular views of three countries: Jordan, Syria, and Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
In the photograph beyond these basalt columns of a 6th-century church, the plateau you see is the Golan Heights. 'The' Golan Heights. Israel took two-thirds of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War.The north still belongs to Syria, the south, to Israel. There's a small buffer zone between the control lines to implement the ceasefire of the Purple Line.
Nonetheless, shelling is repeatedly exchanged here between the two countries.
Also, they say Jesus performed the miracle of the Gadarene Swine in Gadara.
I ask Abu Saleem... "Where have the miracles gone?"
(Content credit: @rubber_meets_the_road on IG)
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