Middle East - Anthony Ham [306]
The origins of the building are something of a mystery: it was built either by the Romans or Byzantines, although what you see today is the result of renovations carried out by the Umayyads in AD 710. Around 60 labyrinthine rooms surround the central courtyard, suggesting that the building may have been used as a meeting place for the Damascus elite and local Bedouin.
Again, you’ll need to hitch to reach this site. The complex is only signposted coming from Amman, so if you’re coming from Azraq, keep an eye out for the nearby communication masts that disappointingly blight the site.
KING’S HIGHWAY
Of Jordan’s three highways running from north to south, the King’s Highway is by far the most interesting and picturesque, with a host of attractions lying on the road or nearby. The highway connects the mosaic town of Madaba to the pink city of Petra via Crusader castles, Roman forts, biblical sites, a windswept Nabataean temple and some epic landscapes – including the majestic Wadi Mujib and a gem of a nature reserve at Dana.
Unfortunately, public transport along the King’s Hwy is patchy and stops altogether at Wadi Mujib, between Dhiban and Ariha; you can either take a private vehicle for part of the way or try to hitch. Alternatively, the Palace Hotel (Click here) in Amman and the Mariam Hotel (opposite) in Madaba can organise transport along the highway.
MADABA
05 / pop 135,000
The relaxed market town of Madaba is best known for a collection of superb, Byzantine-era mosaics. The most famous of these is the mosaic map on the floor of St George’s Church but there are many other mosaics carpeting different parts of the town, many of which are even more complete and vibrant in colour – look for the chicken. There’s one in most mosaics and trying to spot it may save ‘mosaic-fatigue’ syndrome.
One third of Madaba’s population is Christian (the other two-thirds are Muslim), making it one of the largest Christian communities in Jordan. The town’s long tradition of religious tolerance is joyfully – and loudly – expressed on Fridays. This is one day when you shouldn’t expect a lie-in. The imam summons the faithful before dawn. Then the carillon bells get the Orthodox Christians out of bed and finally Mammon gets a look-in with the honks and groans of traffic.
Madaba is worth considering as an alternative place to stay to Amman: Madaba is far more compact, has excellent hotels and restaurants, and is less than an hour by regular public transport from the capital. Madaba is also a good base for exploring the Dead Sea, Bethany and other sites such as Mt Nebo, Machaerus (Mukawir) and Hammamat Ma’in.
Information
Madaba’s visitor centre ( 3253563; Abu Bakr as-Seddiq St; 8am-5pm) is a good place to begin a visit to Madaba. Benefiting from generous funding from US Aid, the well-run centre has a wide selection of free brochures, various displays, culturally revealing exhibits, very helpful staff and clean toilets.
Among Madaba’s better internet cafés is Tour.Dot internet (Talal St; per hr 500 fils; 9am-2am).
All the town’s half-dozen banks can change money and have ATMs.
Sights
Madaba’s most famous site is the Mosaic Map in the 19th-century Greek Orthodox St George’s Church (Talal St; admission JD1; 8am-5pm Sat-Thu Nov-Mar, 7.30am-6pm Apr-Oct; 9.30am-5pm Fri year-round). In 1884 Christian builders came across the remnants of an old Byzantine church on the site of their new construction. Among the rubble, having survived wilful destruction, fire and neglect, the mosaic they discovered had extraordinary significance: to this day, it represents the oldest map of Palestine in existence and provides many historical insights into the region.
The mosaic was crafted in AD 560 and has 157 captions (in Greek) depicting all the major biblical sites of the Middle East from Egypt to Palestine. It was originally around 15m to 25m long and 6m wide and once contained more than two million pieces. Although much of the mosaic has been lost, enough remains to sense the