oldest map of the Holy Land that is still extant. MADABA Jordan

Madaba (Arabic: مادبا‎) is the capital city of Madaba Governorate in central Jordan, It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of the Holy Land. Madaba is located 30 kilometres (19 miles) south-west of the capital Amman.

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The town of Madaba was once a Moabite border city, mentioned in the Bible in Numbers 21:30 and Joshua 13:9.The modern Arab village of Medeba (Madaba) is built on the ruins of biblical Medeba. During construction of the Church of St. George, the beautiful "Madaba Map" was found. This map was originally part of the floor of a Byzantine church, built during the reign of emperor Justinian, AD 527-565. It is the oldest map of the Holy Land that is still extant. Five other Byzantine churches have been discovered in Madaba, all with nice mosaics. This has led to Madaba’s designation as "the city of mosaics."  

  Standing in front of the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George, sometimes called the
                                                           "Church of the Map"

 With two million pieces of colored stone, the map depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns in Palestine and the Nile Delta. The mosaic contains the earliest extant representation of Byzantine Jerusalem, labeled the "Holy City." The map provides important details about its 6th-century landmarks, with the cardo, or central colonnaded street, and the church of the Holy Sepulchre clearly visible. This map is one key in developing scholarly knowledge about the physical layout of Jerusalem after its destruction and rebuilding in 70 AD.

Jerusalem on the Madaba map. This mosaic depiction of sixth-century Jerusalem’s streets and buildings includes the Holy Sepulchre Church. . The Holy Sepulchre Church is the large upside-down gold-domed structure perpendicular to the Cardo, the colonnaded main thoroughfare running from right to left across the center of the city. The church is midway along the Cardo, interrupting the lower row of columns. Four steps abut the Cardo’s central roadway.

 

                                                 Our guide in Jordan explaining the Map

The map marks Jericho with palm trees, 12 stones at Gilgal, Jacob’s well in Shechem, tribal allotments, the Oak of Mamre at Hebron, John's baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, Benjamin, Judah, and Bethlehem.

                                               Jerusalem with its walls is the focus of the map. Clearly visible are the north-south Cardo and valley streets (lined with columns), the Damascus Gate plaza and pillar, the city walls, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Church of Holy Zion (Hagia Sion), and Justinian's "Nea" Church.

                                          You can see the town of Jericho marked with Palm trees above

T he current remains are 34.5 ft x 16.5 ft (10.5 m x 5 m, but patchy and not entirely square), only about one-third the original size. There are currently 750,000 cubes remaining. The original size of the map was approximately 51 ft x 19.5 ft (15.5 m x 6 m), although no borders are visible. The map is made of various colors. It has 150 Greek inscriptions in various sizes, and covers the area from Tyre in the north to the Egyptian Delta in the south.

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