Prince Charles, Duchess Camilla visit Umm Qais

AMMAN — Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, on their second day of the official visit to the Kingdom visited Umm Qais.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, accompanied by HRH Prince Ghazi, Chief Adviser to His Majesty for Religious and Cultural Affairs and Personal Envoy of His Majesty, toured several archaeological and historical sites in the city, 90km north of Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The prince and duchess were briefed by HRH Princess Dana Firas and Tourism Minister Nayef Fayez about the historical and archaeological facts about the city and development plans for several sites.

The prince and duchess toured the Columns Street and Roman Theatre before moving to the Hosh (courtyard) of the 1920 Umm Qais Treaty and old guesthouses that document the social and historical life of tribes who have inhabited the city since the early 19th century.  

The royal guests also visited Umm Qais Museum with its comprehensive panorama of the history of the archaeological city and the successive civilisations that were established in the area, in addition to the exhibition that narrates the development story of the city and urban style that prevailed in the area. 

Exchanging talks with workers in these sites, Prince Charles expressed his admiration of the antiquities and historical sites of Umm Qais that is one of the 10 Decapolis cities. Decapolis cities are a league of 10 ancient Greek cities established between 323BC and 63BC.

The prince said that the history of the city is an evidence of the long history of Jordan that is full of civilisations.