Madaba
Jordan · 780 m
Description
Madaba (مادبا) is a quiet plateau town known above all for the mosaic floor of its Greek Orthodox Church of St George. The Madaba Map, laid in the sixth century, is the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the Holy Land and shows a detailed plan of Jerusalem with its colonnaded street and churches. Mosaics turned up all over the town during nineteenth-century rebuilding, and the Archaeological Park now shelters several of them in situ, including the floors of the Church of the Virgin and the Hippolytus Hall. Madaba still has a large Christian community, and its mosaic school trains restorers who work on sites across the region. The town sits about half an hour from Mount Nebo and forty minutes from the Dead Sea, which makes it a common and cheaper base than Amman.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 2 days (optimal 1 day)
Travel season
Best time to visit: April – May or October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Madaba Mosaic Map in St George's Church
- Madaba Archaeological Park
- Church of the Apostles
- Church of the Beheading of St John the Baptist with the Acropolis Museum
- Bell Tower Viewpoint of the Latin Church
- Burnt Palace
- Hippolytus Hall
- Church of the Virgin Mary
- Madaba Archaeological Museum
- Roman Colonnaded Street
- Madaba Old Town and Tourist Street
- Hammamat Ma'in Hot Springs(Day trip)
- Mosaic Workshops and Handicraft Shops
- Madaba Institute for Mosaic Art and Restoration
- Church of the Holy Martyrs (Al-Khadir)
- Machaerus Fortress (Mukawir)(Day trip)
- Church of the Prophet Elijah and its Crypt
- Haret Jdoudna Restaurant in a 19th-Century Stone Mansion
- Street Food and Local Market of Madaba
- Umm ar-Rasas(Day trip)
- Kawon Bookshop and Cafe
- Moabite City Wall