Irbid anciently known as Arabella is Jordan's 2nd largest city located about 85 km north of Amman, situated at an equal distance from Pella and Umm Qais, and is a bustling community with a large university (Yarmouk University).

Though not an important city for sightseeing, Irbid houses two very worthwhile museums, and forms a good base from which to explore the northern Jordan Valley or to start a trip to Umm Qais, Pella, Ajloun, Umm Al-Jimal, or Syria.

Artifacts and graves in the area shows that Irbid has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. Irbid, nowadays, retains the bustle and charm of provincial Middle Eastern town that has not been disfigured by the consumerism and modernism that have made such a big impact on the large cities.