Places to Visit in Madaba,JORDAN(7)

I have decided to write this post to help travelers know what are the places they should include in their itinerary while visiting Madaba.Because I have found that agents will take you to only St.George Church in Madaba( from my friend's experience).Even our agent tried to do the same thing while I was arranging our tour programme. But as I read about Madaba it was useful to me while trying to fix the deal with our agent. I made it clear that I wanted to include the following places during our trip to Madaba and he at last agreed. 
They will try to explain you that there won't be enough time.....don't  fall into their trap. You will get enough time to include all the places.


We visited Mt Nebo and Madaba on the same day.


The following places you should include in your Madaba itinerary..........


1) St.George Church (all agents include it.....it's Madaba's main tourist attraction)


2)Don't miss Madaba’s  Archaeological Park and Museum complex. It contains some outstanding mosaic panels as well as ancient traditional Jordanian embroidered dresses, jewellery and pottery.


3)Your visit to Madaba is incomplete without your visit to any  mosaics craft factory, where you can see artisans making mosaics items and also buy them.Here the artisans are taught the art of making, repairing and restoring mosaics. 

Madaba,JORDAN: In Pictures(6)

Here are some pictures  of Madaba’s extensive Archaeological Park and Museum complex and few mosaics..........

Recognizing the value of investing in historic preservation and knowledge,Jordan has attracted the best modern scholars,and artists,from archaeologists to architects,to assist in the preservation and interpretation of its mosaic treasures.An extensive archaeological park and museum complex has been constructed in Madaba to preserve a number of recently discovered masterpieces. 

The park encompasses the remains of several Byzantine churches,including the fantastic mosaics of the Church of the Virgin and the Hippolytus Hall. 

Madaba,JORDAN: In Pictures(5)

Few pictures of Madaba town...........

Madaba,JORDAN: In Pictures(4)

Your visit to Madaba is incomplete without your visit to any  mosaics craft factory, where you can see artisans making mosaics items and also buy them.Here the artisans are taught the art of making, repairing and restoring mosaics. 

Tips: Amazing handicrafts abound in and around Madaba – there are handicraft souks on the road to Mt Nebo(we purchased from one such mosaic center), as well as in town mostly centered along Artisan’s Street. Particularly look out for mosaics, hand woven rugs,hand painting on ostrich egg and wall hangings.
Buy your Mosaic souvenir here. Its always better to buy things at their place of origin….WHY??? because you get variety. It’s slightly costly (don’t worry Not Much) but the variety you will get here is difficult to find in any part of Jordan.

Madaba,JORDAN: In Pictures(3)

Here are some pictures of St.George Church....

Entrance Gate to the church

There were lot of candles glowing in St.George church. The atmosphere within the church gave us lot of peace of mind. 

The visit to the church was also refreshing as it brought back memories of my daily visit to the church in my school as a kid. 

Within the church 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 meters in its original state – most of which can be seen even today – is a map that depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns, as far away as the Nile Delta.  It was discovered in 1896 and is one the oldest known mosaic maps of the Holy Land ever uncovered, dating to the 6th century B.C.

. There is a small room in the church, where visitors write their wish with candles on the glass wall.

Madaba: City of Mosaics(JORDAN)

In about 30 minutes from Mt Nebo, we were at our next destination – Madaba. We are again at another lovely place.

Madaba is a pretty little town famous for its mosaics and  approximately  30km from Amman, along the 5,000-year-old Kings´ Highway. Christians make up a large portion of the population here and as a result, so we observed a large number of women walking the streets without the traditional Islamic headscarf. 

Known as ‘City of Mosaics’, the town’s most famous attraction is the Greek Orthodox  Church of St.George. Within the church 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 meters in its original state – most of which can be seen even today – is a map that depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns, as far away as the Nile Delta.  It was discovered in 1896 and is one the oldest known mosaic maps of the Holy Land ever uncovered, dating to the 6th century B.C.

After our visit to the St.George church, we visited Other mosaic masterpieces found in the Church of the Virgin and the Apostles and in the Archaeological Museum which depict a rampant profusion of flowers and plants, birds and fish, animals and exotic beasts, as well as scenes from mythology and the everyday pursuits of hunting, fishing and farming. Literally, hundreds of other mosaics from the 5^th through the 7^th centuries are scattered throughout Madaba's churches and homes.

In line with Jordan's commitment to restoring and preserving its mosaic masterpieces, Madaba’s extensive Archaeological Park and Museum complex encompasses the remains of several Byzantine churches, including the outstanding mosaics of the Church of the Virgin and the Hyppolytus Hall, part of a 6^th century mansion.

It was a pleasure and contentment to see such ancient mosaics. The visit to the church was also refreshing and invigorating as it brought back memories of my daily visit to the church in my school as a kid. There were lot of candles glowing in St.George church.....Along with the atmosphere within the church gave us lot of peace of mind. There is a small room in the church, where visitors write their wish with candles in the glass wall.

Your visit to Madaba is incomplete without your visit to any  mosaics craft factory, where you can see artisans making mosaics items and also buy them.Here the artisans are taught the art of making, repairing and restoring mosaics.

The Madaba tourism cluster extends from Bethany in the north to the villages of Thiban, Mukawer and Um Rasas in the south, covering a historic area that was known as the plain of Moab over two thousand years ago.This cluster is anchored by the city of Madaba and contains a scattering of villages located across the bluffs descending to the Dead sea, with spectacular scenes of swooping valleys and unique rock formations, as well as views of the Dead Sea itself.

Christians consider the Madaba cluster an important part of the Holy Land, and the cluster contains three of the six Vatican–sanctioned pilgrimage sites in Jordan.