Madaba

Understand

thumb|300px|right|Church floor with Jerusalem & the Holy Land A town with a long history, Madaba is best known as the location of the "Madaba Map", a 6th-century mosaic depiction of Jerusalem and many parts of the Holy Land.

In biblical times the city was part of the Moab Kingdom. After having been conquered by the Persians and after a devastating earthquake in 746 A.D., the city was left alone and remained mostly abandoned until 1890, when the reconstruction of a Greek Orthodox church revealed the famous mosaic.

Madaba with about 80,000 inhabitants is approximately 10% Christian (Catholics & Greek Orthodox). Much of the traveller and pilgrim infrastructure is run by the Franciscans. For the Bedouins living around the area, Madaba is an important market place.

Get in

The city is 25 km from Queen Alia International Airport and 35-40 km from the Dead Sea, potentially making it the ideal place to start or end your trip to Jordan.

Get around

Madaba is a very small city, so one can easily get around by on foot, although a taxi from downtown to the bus station is a good idea (1-2 JD). Taxis traveling within the city do not use the taxi meter but operate at a standard fare of 1 JD per trip. Make sure you agree on this price with the driver before hopping on. Uber is also available inside the city. Very good option for a ride to Mt. Nebo (around 5 JD from Madaba center) (Feb 2019).

Do

Not much except for visiting the places mentioned before and climbing the bell tower of Saint John Shrine.

Buy

Very good quality and cheap rugs. There are places where you can have them made on order if you have the time to wait for them. Excellent mosaics and great Dead Sea products.

Eat

There are many little falafel and kebab places, some better than others.

Ayola's – A great coffee shop that welcomes tourists. They have very good sandwiches and excellent fruit shakes. It is the place to ask for a sheesha and people watch. Chili Ways – Newly opened. Offers decent hamburgers and fast-food at very reasonable prices. King Mesha restaurant – Offers lovely ambiance, friendly service and delicious food for very reasonable prices. It is very near the Madaba Archaeological Park and the museum.

Drink

Alcohol is widely available and there are a lot of liquor shops in town. If you are travelling to Wadi Rum and prefer wine during evening in the Bedouin camp, buy alcohol here as it is only available in the luxury hotels and camps in Wadi Rum, which most likely will be very far off - not many camps are close to each other.

Go next

Most local buses going north or south should stop at the bus station in the east of town.

Amman — if you stayed in Madaba over night coming from the airport. Dead Sea — besides Petra the most famous tourist attraction in Jordan. Kerak — site of a once-mighty Crusader castle. — great nature reserve famous for its impressive canyons. Read more here. Limited access in winter. Dana Nature Reserve — stay in a local village within the Nature Reserve, and enjoy unforgettable hiking in an offshoot of the Great Rift. Petra — The most famous sight in Jordan. A touristic (=pricey) bus leaves every day from outside the Mariam Hotel for the trip to Wadi Musa (near Petra) via the scenic King's Highway, with stops at Wadi Mujib and Kerak. Wadi Rum — a stunning desert valley in southern Jordan, lies about an hour south of Petra.