The Jordan Valley and Petra . he inhabitants and swept northwardand westward, leaving the wonderful and beautifulcities tenantless but undestroyed. The Arabs ofthe desert followed with their flocks and herds, andbeing dwellers in tents, left the cities to crumblethrough the lapse of time. Now and then anearthquake has hastened the overthrow of templeand colonnade and forum, but we have in many ofthe cities the most perfect illustration of a Greciancity that the modern world can ever hope to ruins lie as they were left, a thousand or eventwelve hundred years ago. This is the charm, this
The Jordan Valley and Petra . he inhabitants and swept northwardand westward, leaving the wonderful and beautifulcities tenantless but undestroyed. The Arabs ofthe desert followed with their flocks and herds, andbeing dwellers in tents, left the cities to crumblethrough the lapse of time. Now and then anearthquake has hastened the overthrow of templeand colonnade and forum, but we have in many ofthe cities the most perfect illustration of a Greciancity that the modern world can ever hope to ruins lie as they were left, a thousand or eventwelve hundred years ago. This is the charm, thisis the enchantment which has been allurinor trav-ellers for a hundred years, in spite of all the dangersfrom Bedawin tribes, and the still more jealousoccupants of these ancient cities. When we crossed the Jordan at Abadiyeh, itwas our intention to return to Beisan (Scythopolis)via the Jisr el Majamia, but after we had viewedthe ruins of Gadara, and sat in our tents reviewingthe day, we decided to go at once to Jerash, seeing. o<O o Gadara and the Decapolis 171 as many of the cities and as much of the countryof the UecapoHs as possible. Our experiencesin the days that followed more than justified ourchange of plans. The suggestion of George Adam Smith toidentify Gadara with Ramoth-Gilead is not to bedismissed lightly. We have visited at least fourof the proposed identifications (Salt, Ajlun, Ga-dara, and Irbid) and feel sure that none of themcan match Gadara in the features which make itan almost impregnable watch-tower and fortress,commanding a wider sweep of country than almostany of the other proposed identifications. Early the next morning we climbed to the roofof the Sheikhs house, occupying the highest pointof the headland, and enjoyed the superb view in alldirections, noting clearly many sites west of theJordan, towards Beisan and Nablous, and tracingthe oreneral direction of our own road as it swuneround the rim of the great amphitheatre of themountains of Ajlun. On
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