The Mosaic Map of Madaba
I grew up crawling on mosaic tiles. My mother’s home still has the original floor, and visitors go ga-ga over how polished it looks. It took a trip to Jordan to learn that it isn’t mosaic at all. Real mosaic 1 , it turns out, is something else entirely. About 35 km from Amman lies the city of Madaba. UNESCO designated it as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art. We are there to see the Mosaic Map, which has acquired quite a fame in historical and archaeological circles. The parking lot of Madaba Visitors Centre greets us with a giant mosaic pattern spread out over the wall. It is a pictorial representation of the historic, ancient King's Highway, a legendary trade and pilgrimage route stretching through Jordan from the north down to the south. The mural is made up of 3 million individual tiles and celebrates Madaba’s status as “the city of mosaics”. We are standing in front of the St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church. Though brilliantly lit up by the setting sun, it is a ver...
