Best known for its spectacular Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics,
Madaba is home to the famous 6th century Mosaic Map of Jerusalem
and the Holy Land. With two million pieces of vividly coloured
local stone, it depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns as
far as the Nile Delta. The Madaba Mosaic Map covers the floor of
the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, which is located
northwest of the city centre. The church was built in 1896 AD,
over the remains of a much earlier 6th century Byzantine church.
The mosaic panel enclosing the Map was originally around 15.6 X
6m, 94 sq.m., only about a quarter of which is preserved. Other
mosaic masterpieces found in the Church of the Virgin and the
Apostles and in the Archaeological Museum depict a rampant
profusion of flowers and plants, birds and fish, animals and
exotic beasts, as well as scenes from mythology and the everyday
pursuits of hunting, fishing and farming. Literally, hundreds of
other mosaics from the 5th through the 7th centuries are
scattered throughout