Madaba

Jordan is a unique and blessed land of the Old and New Testaments and early years of Islam. The litany of ancient place names reads like biblical gazetteer Edom, Moab, Ammon, Gilead, Gad and Peraea.

The Madaba of the Bible is today the small town of Madaba, only 30 kilometers south of Amman. Remains of the Roman road and civic architecture can still be seen in the midst of the modern town, but it is the Byzantine and Umayade mosaics for which Madaba is best known. At the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George visitors may view the earliest surviving original map of the Holy Land, which was made around A.D. 560. In addition, there are other mosaic floors preserved throughout the town, as well as a fine local museum.

Less than 40 kilometers south of Madaba lies Mukawir, ancient Machaerus. This was the fortress built by Herod the Great, which after his death passed to Herod Antipas. Here is where Herod imprisoned John the Baptist, and where the beautiful Salome danced for Herod, who presented her with the head of John the Baptist to honor her wishes.

The remains of the fortress thick walls, which were largely destroyed by the Romans, dominate Mukawir, which has a splendid view across the Dead Sea to the hills around Jerusalem.