Madaba, Jordan 2009

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We borrowed a car and went on a day trip to Madaba, about 25km south of Amman. Known as the City of Mosaics, Madaba is an old Christian part of Jordan with a very long history. Madaba is mentioned in the Bible (as a Moabite border city) in Numbers 21:30 and Joshua 13:9. The city was ruled by the Romans and later the Byzantines.

A typical tourist destination in Madaba is the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George. In the floor of the church is a mosaic map of Holy Land dating from the 6th century AD. The map shows details of Palestine and the Nile Delta. Apparently, this map is one of the few records of how Jerusalem looked after its destruction and rebuilding in 70 AD.

Local stories suggest that mosaics exist underneath every dwelling in Madaba, and archeological excavations suggest that this area has the highest concentration of mosaics anywhere in the world.

While we were in Madaba, we managed to purchase a mosaic. I will finish this later, but in the meantime, here are some photos.

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