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Jordan Tourism Guide |
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Madaba |
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The trip south from
Amman along the 5,000-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".
Madaba's chief attraction - in the contemporary
Greek Orthodox church of St. George - is a
wonderfully vivid, 6th century Byzantine mosaic
map showing Jerusalem and other holy sites. With
two million pieces of coloured stone, and a full
25 x 5 metres in its original state - most of
which can still be seen today - the map depicts
hills and valleys, villages and towns, as far
away as the Nile Delta. This masterpiece is
unrivalled in Jordan, but there are literally
dozens of other mosaics from the 5th through the
7th centuries, scattered throughout Madaba's
churches and homes.
WHAT TO SEE
The Visitors' Centre, tel. (05) 3253563. Opens
daily 08:00h-18:00h. It is a good place to
orient yourself for a visit to Madaba.
The Tourist Office, tel. (05) 3243376. Opens
08:00h-18:00h, closed Fri. & Sat. It is located
in front of the Burnt Palace and other
archaeological remains. It is another place to
obtain information.
St. George's Church with its famous mosaic floor
map is of course the star attraction. Opens
daily 08:00h-18:00h. Admission 1 JD.
The following sites share one admission ticket
for 2 JD, which can be purchased at any of the
three:
Madaba Archaeological Museum, tel. (05) 3244056.
Opens daily 09:00h-17:00h.
Madaba Archaeological Park.Opens daily
08:00h-17:00h.
Church of the Apostles with more stunning
mosaics. Opens daily 08:00h-17:00h. |
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