Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Unesco World Heritage site in 2004, it's not as well promoted as other sites along the
highway. A grand new visitor centre opened at the end of 2008 but is already badly in
need of maintenance and sheds little light on the site. Visitors are accompanied to the ru-
ins by tourist police; although kind and friendly, they are not able to give much in the way
of interpretation.
The ruined
Church of St Stephen
(admission free; 8am-4pm)
, protected by an ugly
hangar but with an ingenious interior hanging stairway, is one of four churches in the ori-
ginal village. Inside, the magnificent
mosaics
date back to about AD 785. If you have mo-
saic fatigue after Madaba and Mt Nebo, try to muster up one last flurry of enthusiasm for
this well-preserved masterpiece. There are depictions of hunting, fishing and agriculture;
scenes of daily life (such as boys enjoying a boat ride, a man astride an ostrich); and the
names of those who helped pay for the mosaic. A panel consisting of 10 cities in the re-
gion includes Umm ar-Rasas, Philadelphia (Amman), Madaba, Esbounta (Hesban),
Belemounta (Ma'in), Areopolis (Ar-Rabba) and Charac Moaba (Karak). A northern panel
depicts Jerusalem, Nablus, Casearea, Gaza and others.
Beyond are the expansive ruins of
Kastron Mefaa
(mentioned in the Bible as the Ro-
man military outpost of Mephaath), with another four churches (including the
Church of
Lions
with impressive namesake mosaics) and city walls. Arches rise up randomly from
the rubble like sea monsters and you can spot cisterns and door lintels everywhere, al-
though a lack of signposts makes it hard to grasp the structure of the town.
About 1.5km north of the ruins is an enigmatic 15m-tall
stone tower
, the purpose of
which baffles archaeologists as there are no stairs inside but several windows at the top. It
was most likely a retreat for stylites, early Christian hermits who lived in seclusion on the
top of pillars. Crosses decorate the side of the tower and several ruined monastery build-
ings lie nearby.
As part of the development of facilities at Umm ar-Rasas, a new museum is planned for
the archaeological site of
Lehun
. Lehun was a garrison town built in AD 300 to house the
4th Roman Legion, forming part of a line of Roman forts called the Limes Arabicus,
which defended the most remote borders of Rome. The site is 7km east of Dhiban and is
worth a visit not so much for the random excavations as for the panoramic view across
Wadi Mujib.
Getting There & Away
As with all points along the King's Highway, the easiest way to get to either Umm ar-Ras-
as or Lehun is to drive or charter a private taxi from Madaba, 32km to the north. The turn-
