Temple of Artemis

Jordan / Jaras /
 temple, open air museum, interesting place, listed building / architectural heritage
This huge temple was built in 150 AD, which occupies a large site to the left of the Cardo. A monumental staircase, which once had high walls, leads up to a U shaped terrace with the foundations of an open-air altar. A second staircase leads through a colonnade of 22 Corinthian columns and into the Temenos (sacred precinct), which measures 162 x 121 m and had Corinthian columns on all four sides.

In early 12th century the temple was converted into a fortress by a garrison stationed in the area by the atabey of Damascus. Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem, captured and burned the fortress in CE 1121-1122. The inner faces of the temple walls still clearly show the effect of the great fire.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Artemis_(Jerash)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   32°16'54"N   35°53'29"E
This article was last modified 14 years ago