Um er-Rasas

Um er-Rasas
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Um er-Rasas is an archeological site in Jordan which contains ruins from the Roman, Byzantine, and early Muslim civilizations. The majority of the site has not been excavated. Among the portions excavated so far include a military camp, and several churches. Particularly noteworthy is the mosaic floor of the Church of Saint Stephen with its representation of towns in the region.

Year Decision Comments
2004 Inscribed Reasons for inscription

Reviews

Anthony Sun (USA):
So I was in Jordan in March and did not want to miss this site and hired a driver to take my son and I out to Um er Rasas. The driver was a tour guide and he is out with tourists every day but he confessed that he has not been to this site in the last four years as no one wants to visit it! He took several wrong turns but a local farmer pointed us to the right road.
When we arrived, there is a beautiful brand new visitor's center. However the parking lot was empty as we were the only visitors at that time. Also all the facilities were not open except the rest rooms. The restaurant, visitor's hall, ticket office were all closed. The guard showed us to the back gate which opens to the site.
The previous descriptions are accurate. A whole pile of rocks strewn over a very large area. We walked around for a while taking pictures and then headed to a hangar like structure that covered the mosaics of St Stephen. The mosaics were superb and well worth the visit and the viewing platform allowed a top down view. Later we visited the stylite tower sitting by the road. Unfortunately, it is still being restored with scaffolding. On the other hand, since no one was on site, my son and I climbed the stairs of the scaffolding to the top of the tower and had a great view of the surrounding area from nearly 50 feet up. We also looked into the top cavity to see what its like to sit in there for years and saw a lot of bird eggs.
Not for everyone but we had fun.
Date posted: April 2010
Jarek Pokrzywnicki (Poland):
I have visited the site in February 2008. From the main road is just a huge pile of stones (visible area of former fortified Roman Camp) but a lot of works have been done in the area of former Byzantine town. All the mosaics were covered with sand and wood to protect them while building roof (preservation project, grant from European Union). Also the "mystery tower" - another part of heritage - was covered with scaffoldings. What a bad luck. At that time the site was open to visitors free of charge with no tourist facilities. But the area is worth visiting, easy to reach by car from main road Amman-Aqaba.
Date posted: September 2008
Christer Sundberg (Sweden):
Quite recently appointed World Heritage Site, the Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a) site first makes you wonder whether it belongs on the list at all? As this, almost non-excavated, site looks right now its more of a heap of rubble than anything else…! Some serious archeological work is needed here before you can make sense of this place. However, what makes it worth the effort of visiting, are the magnificent Roman mosaics in the small church of Saint Stephen.
Date posted: June 2006


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