Around the World in 180 Days with D and N: Madaba, the Mosaic City

From Petra we drove north to Madaba (managing to get lost only a couple of times - they don't seem to believe in road markings here in Jordan). Madaba is renowned for the quantity and quality of its surviving Byzantine mosaics. The best known example is the Madaba Map, part of a floor mosaic located in the Byzantine Church of St. George. The map is the oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the Holy Land, dating to the 6th century AD. One of its purposes was to facilitate pilgrims' orientation in their journeys. The original map measured almost 70 feet by 23 feet. The dimensions of the current remains are about 52 by 16 feet.

We viewed the mosaics in several other churches and archaeological sites, before driving up to Mount Nebo, the spot from which Moses is reputed to have viewed the Promised Land, or Canaan (he died before he actually got there). The views of the Dead Sea and surrounding area were good, and on a clear day, which it was not, you should be able to see Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We'd planned to drive to Bethany, the site on the Jordan River where John the Baptist baptised Jesus, but we'd seen the Jordanian churches from the Israel side, and as it began to rain fairly hard, we drove back to Madaba to settle for a warm dinner and comfortable bed.

While touring today we bumped into a group of young people. One young man, wearing a maroon cap with a large yellow "M" wanted to know where we were from. He was really excited to hear that we too were Minnesotans. He and a young woman from Minnesota are studying Arabic in Amman as part of an exchange program.