GC44NAB Abila of the Decapolis (Traditional Cache) in Jordan created by Bedouin Bandit

This cache has been archived.

Knagur Green: Due to no response from the CO after the request to maintain or replace the cache, I am archiving it to, stop it showing on the listings and/or to create place for the geocaching community.

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Knagur Green
Groundspeak Volunteer Reviewer

GC44NAB ▼

A cache by Bedouin Bandit Message this owner

Hidden : 1/19/2013

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

A trip to beautiful Abila of the Decapolis is worth the drive. If you want a good idea of this place, consider what the Jerash ruins probably looked like 50 years ago and that is what you will see here. Tourist free with a lovely valley spreading between hillsides of settlements, this ancient town contains many interesting ruins and tombs. The cache is located outside "mother of columns" church on top of the hill.

History of Abila

In the preface of the first publication on the site of Abila in 1889, Guy Le Strange says of Abila, "The ruins were evidently of very considerable extent, and show the remains of buildings that must have boasted originally no inconsiderable architectural splendor." This is an accurate depiction of one of the most splendid sites in northern Jordan. Abila of the Decapolis is rich with archaeological history. The site boasts a saga that reaches back to a time before Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But its visible remains, to which Guy Le Strange referred to, give testimony to a glorious time when Abila reached its zenith in culture, economy, and politics. This was the Abila of the Roman and Byzantine periods.

The Decapolis was a group of ten cities (Abila, Damascus, Dion, Gerasa, Gadara, Hippos, Pella, Philadelphia, Raphana, Scythopolis) that formed a Hellenistic or Greco-Roman confederation or league located south of the Sea of Galilee in the Transjordan. Abila lies about three miles south of the Yarmuk River (nahr el-Yarmuk), the modern border between Jordan and Syria. The only city belonging to the Decapolis located to the west of the Jordan River is Scythopolis, ancient Beth Shan.

Abila, along with other cities of the Decapolis, is mentioned in other extant ancient documents.

Josephus mentions Abila falling into the hands of Antiochus the Great (Antiquities 12:3:136). Pliny also gives mention to Abila (Natural History, 5, 74). Eusebius mentions in his Onomasticon that Abila is "twelve Roman miles from Gadara. The term "Decapolis" is a misnomer, for according to the second century A.D. geographer,Ptolemy, the Decapolis included more than ten cities (Geography 5:14:22). Ptolemy adds nine additional cities to his list: Heliopolis (Baalbak), Abila (Quailibah), Saana (Janamyn), Ina, Abila of Lysanias, Capitolias (Beit Ras), Adra, Gadora (Umm Qeis), and Samoulis.

Although Abila is not mentioned in the Holy Scriptures by name, the term "Decapolis" is specifically referred to three times, with connection to Jesus' ministry: Matthew 4:25 ("Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him."); Mark 5:20 ("So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed."); and Mark 7:31 ("Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.") [NIV]. It is also alluded to in several places throughout the Bible.

The Name Abila

The Greco-Roman name "Abila" is preserved in the Arabic toponym (placename), Tel Abil. Abila is an adaptation of the Semitic form, Abel. Abel is the Hebrew word for: perennial stream; watercourse; canal; or brook (Deut.8:2,3,6). This is important when considering the topography of the site, for Tel Abil has a fine perennial stream that flows from its source, Ain Qwailibah, located about one kilometer south of the site. The stream runs north and then turns slightly northwest, emptying into the Yarmuk River and eventually into the Jordan River.

Abila and Jesus

One very important consideration that provides understanding of the strategic location and prominence of these cities in the Decapolis league is found in Mark 7:31: ("Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.") [NIV]. Jesus considered this region important enough to visit! This lends credence to the idea that these cities were prominent in antiquity. Did Jesus' itinerary include Abila? This question may never be answered conclusively, due to the lack of hard evidence, but it goes without saying that Abila was a very important city, within close proximity to Galilee, being only 12 Roman miles from Gadara. It was located on a strategic route from Nabataea to Damascus, and it had a bountiful water source and equally bountiful agricultural lands. One must remember the words of the Egyptologist, Kenneth Kitchen, "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." Whether Jesus actually visited Abila physically we may never know, but He was certainly represented there spiritually as the abundance of Christian art and architecture loudly testifies.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Nf ybj nf lbh pna tb, ernpu qbja naq onpx oruvaq n srj ebpxf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)