St. George Church Map
Northwest of the Roman street in Madaba you arrive to the Greek Orthodox Church of St George built in the 19th century housing the unique mosaic map dating to the 6th century AD that was uncovered in 1884. It represents a topographical source of Byzantine Jordan, Palestine and lower Egypt.
The map suffered from fire, Iconoclast, tomb-diggers, climate and rodents resulting in a piece measuring today 10.5m in length and 5m in width comprised of 700k-800k pieces of naturally colored tesserae.
Orientation of the map is to the east corresponding with the church not to the north. It depicts the Jordan River, Dead Sea, Kerak, Petra and the place where Jesus Christ was baptized to central Palestine with Jerusalem as navel of earth with parts of the Mediterranean and Nile delta.
Mount Nebo
Referenced in Abrahamic texts as the site of Mount Nebo, this township was first inhabited by a Christian nomadic tribe in the 4th century. Explore your religious roots in the religious town, or visit Mt. Nebo where it is believed that Moses died as he viewed the Holy Land.
"And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho." (Deuteronomy 34:1)
Contact information/ how to book:
Madaba Archeological Directorate:
Telephone: 00962 6 464 4320
Umm Ar-Rasas
With most of the city now in ruins, Umm ar-Rasas, originally inhabited by the Romans to protect trade routes from the Arabian Peninsula to the Levant, is now an archeological site perfect for those who love history. Listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2004 because of its diverse Roman and Islamic influences, this site is sure to please.
Contact information/ how to book:
Madaba Visitors’ Center:
Telephone: 00962 5 3253097
Machaerus / Mukawir
Dramatically situated in the hills south-west of Madaba, and overlooking the Dead Sea the fortress of Machaerus lies near the village of Mukawir traditionally associated with the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist.
An earlier fortress was built there by the Hasmonaean ruler Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BC) to defend his eastern territory of Peraea against the Nabataeans. So impregnable was it thought to be that Jannaeus’ widow and heir, Alexandra, stored her treasure there, but the site proved not to be inviolable — in 57 BC, ten years after Alexandra’s death, when the region had descended into civil war between her two sons, the Romans asserted control and seized this strategic fortress, virtually demolishing it in the process.
In 37 BC the Roman senate proclaimed Herod (later called ‘the Great’) king over the people and lands of his Hasmonaean predecessors. Machaerus was rebuilt by Herod both as a palatial and secure summer residence and also as a defense against the neighboring Nabataeans.
This area fell to Herod Antipas. Some 30 years later Antipas divorced his wife (a Nabataean princess, daughter of Aretas IV) to marry Herodias, wife of his brother Philip. His rejected wife made her way to Machaerus, then across the nearby border with Nabataea and from there, under the protection of the Nabataean army, she went south to her father’s capital at Petra.
John the Baptist, who had so outspokenly condemned Antipas’ divorce and remarriage, also came to Machaerus – but as a prisoner. It was here that Herodias’ daughter Salome danced and, at the instigation of her mother, demanded the Baptist’s head on a charger.
Madaba Visitors’ Center
Nestled into a renovated house from the 19th century, the Madaba Visitors Center is an attraction all on its own. Acquired by The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the center is a great launching point for visitors arriving to Madaba. Open 7 days a week, including holidays, the visitors center is more than equipped to prepare you for your journey into the land of mosaics and religious history.
Contact information/ how to book:
Telephone: 00962 5 3253097
Tourist Street
While visiting Madaba stop by Hussein bin Ali St or “The Tourist Street” to purchase handicrafts and products specific to the mosaics and religious iconography found in Madaba.
Contact information/ how to book:
Madaba Visitors’ Center:
Telephone: 00962 5 3253097
