Top Jordan travel adventures right now? While sightseeing in many destinations demands you look up, the opposite is true in the historic trading city of Madaba. The city is home to the “largest number of mosaics discovered in their original location in the world,” many of which are located on the floors of churches and buildings around the city. The relatively unassuming St. George’s Church is home to one of the most noteworthy mosaics in Jordan: the Madaba Mosaic Map. The 6th-century map depicts the Holy Land during the Byzantine period, showcasing Biblical-era cartography. While some of the original two million tiles are missing, the remnants of the map still give you an excellent glimpse at what the Middle East looked like many centuries ago. Visitors can see more mosaics at Madaba’s two archeological parks. The open-air museum at Archaeological Park I contains a stunning geometric mosaic from the Church of the Virgin Mary – a site from the 6th century that was unearthed in someone’s basement in 1887. This attraction also houses the oldest mosaic in Jordan, which dates back to the 1st century BC, as well as breathtaking carpet-like tile work of the four seasons and nature that was once in a Byzantine villa. Read even more info on Jordan private tours and travel.
See a different side to Jordan in this low-lying valley, where the River Jordan runs south from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. The valley is lush with date, banana and tropical fruit farms which export their wares year-round thanks to the region’s rich soil and subtropical climate. Surrounded by mountains on both sides, the valley has been settled for around 10,000 years and now runs alongside the border with Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Butting up to the Israel-Jordan border on the extreme eastern edge of the country, the dust-caked conglomeration of small dig sites and uncovered builds known as Al-Maghtas is arguably one of the most important biblical relics to be found on the entire courses of the Jordan River. Tagged by UNESCO and slowly becoming a high-profile pilgrimage site for Christians (think papal visits aplenty in the last couple of decades), it’s thought to have been the original site of the baptism of Jesus. Apart from that, the spot displays an interesting array of Jewish and Christian religious remains, Roman constructions, and Orthodox monasteries from the ages of the Ottomans and Mamluks.
You can access the Dead Sea from a couple of entry points, including Amman Beach. Better yet, splurge on a stay at one of the plush spa resorts on the Dead Sea’s northeast coast. They typically have private wading areas complete with buckets of Dead Sea mud. One bath with this red-brown sludge, and your skin will be softer than ever. Hot tip: Avoid getting Dead Sea water in your eyes at all costs. The intense salinity (10 times saltier than the ocean!) stings worse than you can imagine. Ask your tour guide to take you to the Khazali Canyon, where you can see petroglyphs of humans and antelopes that may date as far back as the 8th century BC. Read additional information at https://alextravel.world/.
At Mount Nebo, there’s an incredible mosaic in production. It depicts The King’s Way, a route that runs from Aqaba and the Red Sea north to Bosra Sham. When complete, it will run for more than 30 metres involving more than 3.5 million pieces and expects to earn the record of being the largest mosaic in the world (if you look closely, you’ll find a piece with my name on it. And one there from the Queen). We’re not special, though. The city of Madaba invites every guest to take part in the project, no matter your birthplace or background. It’s a beautiful project in a fractured world.