Middle East - Anthony Ham [299]
Sleeping & Eating
The cheapest hotels are in the city centre in the blocks immediately north of King Hussein St. Most have shared bathrooms.
Al-Ameen al-Kabir Hotel ( 7242384; Al-Jaish St; dm/s/d from JD3/7/10) By far the best cheapie: friendly management, simple but well-tended rooms, and clean shared bathrooms (with hot showers). Women may feel more comfortable at either of the more upmarket hotels below.
Omayed Hotel ( 7245955; King Hussein St; s/d from JD20/25) Rooms are very basic and they’ve seen better days, but they come with satellite TV and large picture windows overlooking the city.
Al-Joude Hotel ( 7275515; off University St; s/d/tr from JD30/40/50, ste JD75; ) Located near the university, this hotel primarily caters for visiting families. It has a classy ambience, pleasing rooms and friendly staff, and deserves its four-star status.
Al-Saadi Restaurant ( 7242354; King Hussein St; meals JD3-5; 8.30am-9.30pm) If you’re staying in downtown, this is one of the better places for Jordanian staples including roasted lamb and chicken, falafel, humus and fuul.
News Café (Al-Joude Hotel; pizza JD2.500) Downstairs from the Al-Joude Hotel, this is a top spot for Irbid’s smart set. It is a warm and inviting place for a milkshake and a snack.
There are dozens of restaurants to suit most budgets along University St.
Getting There & Away
Irbid, located approximately 85km north of Amman, is home to three main minibus and taxi stations.
From the North bus station, there are minibuses to Umm Qais (800 fils; 45 minutes).
From the large South bus station (New Amman bus station), air-conditioned Hejazi buses (2JD, 90 minutes) leave regularly for Amman’s Abdali bus station until about 7pm. To Amman (Abdali bus station) there are also less comfortable buses and minibuses (less than 1JD, about two hours) and plenty of service taxis (1JD). Minibuses also leave the South station for Ajloun (45 minutes), Jerash (45 minutes) and the Syrian border, all for less than one dinar.
From the West bus station (locally known as Mujamma al-Gharb al-Jadid), about 1.5km west of the centre, minibuses go to Al-Mashari’a (5 minutes) for the ruins at Pella, Sheikh Hussein Bridge (for Israel and the Palestinian Territories; 45 minutes) and Shuneh ash-Shamaliyyeh (North Shuna, for the Dead Sea; one hour) for less than a dinar.
Irbid serves as a convenient jumping-off point for travellers heading to either Syria or Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The office of Trust International Transport ( 7251878; Al-Jaish St) near Al-Hasan Sports City is your best source of up-to-date information.
Getting Around
Service taxis (200 fils) and minibuses (100 fils) going to the south bus station can be picked up on Radna al-Hindawi St, three blocks east of the Al-Ameen al-Kabir Hotel. For the north station head to Prince Nayef St. For the west station take a bus from Palestine St, just west of the roundabout. A standard taxi fare from il-bilad (the town) to al-jammiya(the university) is 500 fils. A minibus from University St to the university gate costs 150 fils. Otherwise it’s a 25-minute walk.
UMM QAIS
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Tucked in the far northwest corner of Jordan, and about 25km from Irbid, are the seldom-visited ruins of Umm Qais (Gadara; admission JD1; 8am-5pm), site of both the ancient Roman city of Gadara and an Ottoman-era village. The hilltop site offers spectacular views over the Golan Heights in Syria, the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, which are north; and the Jordan Valley to the south.
Sights
The first thing you come to after the ticket office is the well-restored and brooding west theatre, which once seated about 3000 people. Like the north theatre, it was made from black basalt. Nearby is a colonnaded courtyard and the remains of a 6th-century Byzantine church. Beyond this is the decumanus maximus, Gadara’s main road. A set of overgrown baths are to the west.
Leave some time for Beit Russan, a former residence