St Mary

Madaba was an important and thriving city in the days of the Byzantine empire. There were numerous churches in this small town, only St George which was rebuilt is in use. The rest including St Mary is in ruins. Excavation is going on in dribs and drabs, this being a muslim country and there is probably little funding to keep excavating. What survived of the beautiful mosaics is on display.

The map museum

Growing up in North Borneo, we had the good fortune of having all kinds of people from all over the world come and teach us and rule over us. The British were the government, our teachers came from Southern India, we had our local natives, we were of Chinese descent, our ancestors were from South China.... the lists goes on. This meant that we need to know where in the Atlas these countries were and what kind of cultures were there. This was good fortune because it caused us to look outside of our little corner of the world. Unlike people in the USA who are so self sufficient and insular, they have no clue where most places are in the world. Even though there might be conflicts in some of these places, still they have no clue and are not interested. I think it is for this reason many do not travel abroad. I work with people who wouldn't touch food they are not familar with. This is a sad situation. I have always embraced the world and probably for this reason I have wanderlust. I have pretended that I was born on Wednesday because Wednesday's child has far to go! Seeing a cartography museum was exciting. The Madaba map is so amazing. I guess only a lover of maps would find this to be so.

the Madaba map

Found on the floor of the church of St George is this mosaic map of the Holy Land especially of Jerusalem. The time it was constructed was the sixth century. Most of it survived, some parts are missing. Simply called 'the map' or 'the Madaba map', it is about the oldest surviving map of any form. The detail is just amazing. I came away with wonder and awe as I do with most antiquity that I have seen. In the olden days there are people whose job it is to map the world. Now all we need is are satellites and Google earth. Cartography sure has gotten easier.

Madaba, Jordan

Though it was sttled since Nabataean times, its most important days was when it was an important Byzantine city. Byzantine churches abound and even till today about 15 Byzantine churches exists in Madaba. During Byzantine times it was renown for its mosaics, it is also called 'the city of mosaics. The most important piece of mosaic was found on the floor of St George church.

more bedouins

On the way down we met some bedouin children. Their family run this ramshackle souvenir store. The official word is they go to school. I don't think so but as they grow up they pick up languages from the tourists. Most of them speak incredible English.

Continuing downwards

I'm still amazed that we didn't get lost. The signage was poor and the steps cut into the rock were shallow in some places. In other places it was quite impassable because of debri. But we made it down. This was actually the way up in the olden days as pilgrims climb to the high place of sacrifice. What a beautiful and amazing place, Petra is. I'm so glad I came.

the colored triclinium

There's more to see as we ventured down from the high place of sacrifice. This was our last few hours in Petra. We were almost at the bottom of the valley and soon would be returning to the entrance. The trip was indescrible, seeing pictures of Petra all these years and then finally to set foot in it is surreal. What can I say? But onward and forward...there are other places to be explored.

the soldier tomb

Tomb of the Roman soldier.... just across from the garden tomb. It has three niches that house the figures of three Roman soldiers. We didn't go inside but I read that the whole interior has been blackened by the soot of fires lit by bedouins seeking shelter, an unintended consequence.

the garden tomb

The garden tomb is a actually a temple.

a bedouin woman

I think she is deaf. I was hovering behind her for the longest time but she didn't even turn around to acknowledge me. I was making noises as I took pictures and calling for Sophie to come and meet her. I don't know if she could see very well. It took her quite a bit of time before she realised that we were there. At which time she got up from what she was doing which was lighting a fire to make tea, to show us the postcards and trinkets she had for sale. As usual, Sophie, being the bleeding heart that she is, stopped to buy some postcards.

the lion fountain

Time and weather has done a number on this lion carving. It was reported it had a metal head. There are channels that drove the water into the fountain but they are all gone. The way we took to get down from the high place of sacrifice is also called the 'way of pilgrims.' Actually it was the way for pilgrims to get up to the high place of sacrifice. The lion fountain is half way up and the thirsty pilgrims would stop here to quench their thirst. Also it was used as a place to clean up before getting to the high place of sacrifice.

the other way down

The other way down was beautiful and wild and scary. Even though there were steps cut out in the rock, they were quite faint and there wasn't any way marking at all and we weren't sure about they way. But we did make it down and back to the entrance. It was our last hour, we were to return to our hotel, check out and go to the bus station to take the JETT bus back to Amman.