"Madaba" a Madaba Travel Page by AldenM1

When we arrived in Jordan, we were all housed in Madaba in hotels for a week. There are several very nice, if tiny, hotels in Madaba, and more are being built in anticipation of increasing tourism.

The thing everybody sees in Madaba is the Madaba Mosaic. The Mosaic itself is housed in a Greek Orthodox church and, ironically, is most famous for its depiction of Jerusalem in beautiful colored stones. The floor of the church is actually a map of the Middle East, with major cities like Alexandria, Jerusalem, Aqaba, etc. and attractive renditions of animals and people.

A half-hour's drive from Madaba is Mount Nebo, the site at which Moses is said to be buried. There's a church there now too, welcoming Muslims and Christians alike (Jews are conspicuously not mentioned on the signs around the site). The church is built over the ruins of several ancient churches, and many of the mosaics are visible, if you're into more mosaics. The best part is the view. On a clear day, you can see almost every major site in Israel from this point -- which is why, in theory, God brought Moses there to see the Holy Land from afar. The drawback, of course, is that clear days happen very rarely in the Middle East. Dawn and dusk are your best bets, but you're still probably going to see mostly haze.

This picture is of the plaza in front of the Mosaic Church in Madaba. Madaba is also full of touristy shops, but it's charming and much lower-pressure than Amman. Also, it has a huge Christian population, so the dress code is less strict, you can buy alcohol nearly everywhere, and there are several sweet churches that will welcome you to services if you're so inclined.