Pella

Pella lies on the eastern edge of the Jordan Valley where springs come out of the hills, and the depth of occupation is what makes it: Bronze Age temples, a Hellenistic and Roman town of the Decapolis with a theatre and colonnaded street, Byzantine churches on three separate terraces, and Umayyad houses destroyed by the earthquake of 749. Very little has been reconstructed and the ruins sit in open country with the valley below.

What you actually see

• The Byzantine churches - three separate church complexes on the terraces.
• The Bronze Age temple - the excavated sanctuary from the second millennium BC.
• The Umayyad houses - the eighth-century quarter destroyed in the 749 earthquake.
• The valley view - the Jordan Valley spread out below the site.

When to go

March to May and October to November are the comfortable months. The valley is extremely hot in summer. Spring brings green ground cover.

Honest expectations

Little is reconstructed and the site takes some reading. There is almost no shade and the valley heat is severe outside the cool months. Interpretation is thin.

Nearby

Umm Qais is north, and Irbid is east.