Saint George Church Jordan
Madaba sights
St Georges is one of the main attractions in Madaba, housing a unique byzantine mosaic depicting one of the oldest known maps of the holy land. The church itself was built in 1884 which was when the remains of the old byzantine church and the mosaic were discovered. Although only about a third of the map has survived it would have originally covered an area of more than 15.5 m by 5.5 m, with a geographic range stretching from Lebanon in the north to the Nile delta in the south. Unlike modern maps, which face north at the top, the Madaba mosaic is orientated to the east, with the Jordan River flowing from left to right. The map depicts around 150 locations, each labelled with inscriptions in Greek. However the focal point is a detailed depiction of the city of Jerusalem complete with walls, gates, main streets and 36 specific buildings represented.
Entrance 2JD (2020)
