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Umm Qais stands on a high ridge in northern Jordan, on the site of Gadara, one of the cities of the Decapolis.
From its ruins, colonnaded streets, a theatre and an old basilica, you look out over the Sea of Galilee, the Golan and the Yarmouk valley.
The region of the Gadarenes is remembered in the Gospels as the place where Jesus healed a man tormented by demons, which then entered a herd of pigs that rushed into the sea (Matthew 8, Mark 5, Luke 8).
Umm Qais holds one of the most vivid healing stories in the Gospels, when Jesus set a tormented man free and sent him home to tell what God had done.
Standing on the ridge, with the Sea of Galilee spread out below, pilgrims can picture the scene across the water. It is also one of the loveliest viewpoints in the whole region, a quiet place to read the story where it happened.
What is Umm Qais? The ancient Gadara, a city of the Decapolis in northern Jordan.
What Gospel event is linked to it? The healing of the Gadarene demoniac and the herd of swine.
What can you see there? Roman ruins and wide views over the Sea of Galilee.
Holy Sites
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