Oval Plaza Tourism

Oval Plaza in Jerash is an ancient architectural marvel, part of the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Gerasa, now located in modern-day Jordan. The plaza is an elliptical public space that dates back to the 1st century AD. It's unique due to its large oval shape, unlike the typical rectangular Roman forums. The Oval Plaza is surrounded by a broad sidewalk and a colonnade of Ionic columns. These columns once supported a covered walkway around the plaza, where people could walk and socialize irrespective of the weather. At the end of the oval stands the impressive Temple of Zeus, built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. The plaza was an important social center of Gerasa, where people gathered for business, politics, and religious purposes. The site connects to the Cardo Maximus, the city’s main colonnaded street, which is paved with original stones and bears the ruts of ancient chariots. The ruins are remarkably well-preserved, allowing visitors to imagine the glory of ancient Jerash. Today, the Oval Plaza continues to astonish visitors with its grand scale and its testament to Roman town planning and architecture.