Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
JERUSALEM AS DEPICTED ON THE MAP
In the 6th century, Jerusalem was still essentially the
Roman city of Aelia Capitolina with its walls and gates, and
the main streets of the Cardo Maximus and the Decumanus.
Identifiable landmarks include Damascus Gate and the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as well as the long-vanished
Nea Basilica
(see p82)
and Damascus Gate column.
Plaza in front
of Damascus
Gate with
column
St Stephen's
Gate
Golden
Gate
Nea Basilica
Gate leading
to Mount
Zion
The Madaba map, visited by up
to a thousand visitors a day
Kerak
sits on
top of a high
mountain.
Damascus
Gate
Basilica on
Mount Zion
The Cardo
Maximus
was
the colonnaded
main street.
The Church of the Holy
Sepulchre
is shown topped
by a golden rotunda,
which was destroyed by
the Fatimids in 1009.
Citadel (Tower
of David)
Decumanus
Mamshit
was a Nabataean
c
ity in the Negev Desert.
The Mountains of Sinai
separate the desert to the
north from the
Nile Delta.
The Dead Sea
is shown
with two boats carrying salt
and grain. The sailors have
been hacked out, probably
by iconoclasts who objected
to the representation of
living beings in art.
Beersheva
, although
existing only in part,
can be identified by
the text - and by its
accurate location in the
western NegevDesert.
Ashdod
, an
ancient port on
the Mediterranean,
remains an
important deep-
water harbour.
Pelusium
was
an important
Byzantine-era city;
it has long since
disappeared.
The Nile
is depicted as flowing
east-west rather than the reality,
which is from south to north.
WHAT THE MAP SHOWS
The map is oriented east-west rather
than north-south, with Palestine on
the left and Egypt's Nile Delta on the
extreme right. The cities and villages
are located remarkably accurately for
the time, and they are represented in
plan form, corresponding to a large
degree to modern cartography.
Gaza
was a major port
in ancient times with trade
links to Egypt and Africa
and, by its comparatively
large size, the map accords
it great importance.
The Monastery, one of Petra's most breathtaking monuments
