English
madaba
jordan tours - route map
The trip south from Amman along the 5000-year-old King's Highway is one of the
most memorable journeys in the Holy Land, passing through a string of ancient
sites. The first city you come upon is Madaba, "The City of Mosaics". In many
respects Madaba is a typical East Bank town which differs in one major aspect:
underneath almost every house lies a fine Byzantine mosaic. Many of these
mosaics have been excavated and are on display in the town's museum, but it is
estimated that many more lie hidden waiting to be discovered. Madaba's chief
attraction - in the contemporary Greek Orthodox church of St. George - is a
wonderfully vivid, 6th-century Byzantine mosaic map showing the entire region
from Jordan and Palestine in the north, to Egypt in the south. This map includes
a fascinating plan of Jerusalem: on the left is the north gate from which two
colonnaded streets run south. On the straight street through the heart of the
city stands the domed Holy Sepulcher. Clearly inscribed above the north and east
gates is the legend "Holy City of Jerusalem".