Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Madaba Mosaic Map
Madaba
6
Road map
C4.
*
75,000.
@
from Amman.
n
Hussein bin
Ali St, (05) 324 3376.
In the late 19th century clashes
with the Muslim community led to
a group of Christians from Kerak
voluntarily moving to the long-
uninhabited site of ancient
Madaba. They were permitted to
build new churches only on the
sites of old ones. In 1884, while clearing such
a site, the mosaic map was uncovered. It was
incorporated into the new St George's Church but
was badly damaged in the process. It wasn't until
ten years later that scholars recognized the great
historic value of the mosaic, which was probably
made during the reign of the Emperor Justinian
(AD
(
According to the Old
Testament the Moabite
city of Madaba was one of
those conquered by the
tribes of Israel. After
changing hands several
times it flourished under
Roman dominion and by
the 4th century AD it had
become an important centre
of Christianity with its own
bishop. The town weathered
invasions by the Persians
and Muslims but declined
under the Mamelukes and
was completely abandoned
during the 16th century. It
was not reoccupied until
the late 19th century.
The main attraction is the
fabulous mosaic map housed
in
St George's Church
in
the town centre, but there
is also an
Archaeological
Park
encompassing the
remains of several more
6th-century churches,
all with impressive
mosaics, including one
depicting scenes from
the legend of Adonis
and Aphrodite. The
Church
of the Apostles
on the
southern edge of town has
a mosaic depicting the sea
goddess Thetis surrounded
by fish and sea monsters.
R
St George's Church
#
8:30am (10:30am Fri &
Sun)-6pm daily.
&
E
Archaeological Park
Mosaic gazelle
from the map
527-65).
The Jordan River
is shown crossed by a
ferry and filled with fish, which stop at the
heavily-salted waters of the Dead Sea.
Neapolis
(modern
Nablus)
is badly
damaged, but can
be identified by its
name, spelled out
in Greek letters.
E
#
daily.
&
Gethsemane
Jerusalem
is
depicted in
great detail
(see above).
Jericho
appears on the map as
a walled town with towers,
agreeing with the evidence
found at the site of Tel Jericho.
Bethlehem
, famous as
the birthplace of Jesus, is
shown as a small village
dominated by the Church
of the Nativity.
St George's Church, also known
as the Church of the Map
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp262-3 and pp279-80
