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"The city of mosaic". Madaba, 30km southwest of Amman,
is best known for the Byzantine mosaics preserved in its
churches and museums. It is the most important Christian
center in Jordan, and a great example of religious
tolerance is shown when the call to prayer from the
mosque coexists with church bells in Madaba. Madaba also
has some excellent hotels and restaurants.
Furthermore, Madaba in compact can be visited in
 one
day although it's a great alternative to Amman to stay
over night and start your journey to the Dead Sea or
Bethany beyond the Jordan. Its major attraction is the
wonderful mosaic map in the Greek Orthodox Church
showing Jerusalem and other holy sites, depicting hills
and valleys, villages and towns, as far away as the Nile
Delta. In the same street (Talal Street) to the south
you can see beautiful traditional houses most of them
turned into small stores and souvenir shops or
restaurant like Haret Jdoudna.
The town of Madaba dates back to about 1300BC. and is
mentioned in the Bible as Medaba in the account of Moses
and Exodus (Numbers: 21, 30). It is also mentioned in
Mesha stele, an inscribed stone set up in about 850BC to
record the Moabite King Mesha's achievements (a copy is
exhibited in Jordan Archaeological Museum) one of which
freeing Madaba from the Israelites |
