Madaba, city of arts, peace, colors and contrasts

Madaba, Jordan, February 2020

On our photo-trip to Jordan in the beginning of this year with Delta Tours, Bulgaria, we had planned Madaba as a stop on our way to Dead Sea. We had only few hours to enjoy the colors, history and contrasts of this amazing city, not a big one, but the capital of the govern-orate, close to the capital city of the Kingdom of Jordan, Amman.

On our way there, we saw amazing desert views:

The haze of the desert was adding lots of mystery and the electrical poles were the only objects bringing us back to reality...

We parked at a convenient place right next to the center of the city.

Madaba has quite interesting history. It has been rules by the Roman and Byzantine empires and the city now-a-day has mixed Muslim and Christian population. Our planned attraction to visit here was the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George. On our way there we stopped few times as local guys were giving us delicious treats, pastries that tasted very deliciously. Of course, on our way back we visited their shop and bought some more of them as they offer huge variety, probably hundreds of different sweet and salty pastries ;)

In few minutes few got a great lecture of culture and history by our local guide Hindi, who insisted we call him Itzo, as this is a colloquial of a very common Bulgarian name. He speaks very good Bulgarian as he was married to a Bulgarian girl and spent few years in one of our cities. It was so interesting to listen to him, I learn a lot of new things that day. This is the presentation room at the museum next to the church:

The Greek church is of course Orthodox and is very well preserved. It is home to one of the most famous Byzantine mosaics, representing an ancient map of the Holy Lands:

We've made a lot of photos, as the church is full with sacred images, showing moments from the Christian history:

The donation box, typical for all the churches, I think. What you won't see very often inside churches is the caption in Arabic. This do tells a lot about the peace and balance in this city, doesn't it?

Different candles for those we want to be healthy and blessed and for the souls of the dead:

The front facade of the church with the bell tower and the cross:

While I was enjoying the exterior of the church, I noticed the priest passing by so I quickly made a photo of him in front of the temple entry, and of course, black and white was the only possible way to show it to you. :)

Many local people are involved into the creation of mosaics. I would say, this is the main characteristic of the artistic side of the city. Those mosaics are quite typical and I assure you, once you see them you'll be able to recognize them anywhere you see them.

Few hours spent very well. Ah, and the pomegranate fresh juice they offer almost everywhere on the streets and inside the cafeterias is a must-try!

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Copyright: Damian Hadjiyvanov, Light Captured

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