So it was with much joy that I read in yesterday’s Jordan Times:

Greek grant to enhance tourism services, preserve Byzantine-era church

Under an agreement signed on Tuesday by the Planning Ministry, USAID, the Ministry of Tourism, the Department of Antiquities and the Greek patriarch of Jerusalem [Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III], the Greek government will provide Jordan with $720,000 through Hellenic Aid to enhance tourism services in the mosaic city of Madaba and to protect and preserve an ancient Byzantine-era church.

I for one am glad to see both the Greek Orthodox Church and the U.S. step up to help preserve this historic site with:

… constructing a shelter over the site and providing visitors with interpretation and visual guides describing the history of the church and its numerous mosaics, according to the USAID-Jordan Tourism Development Programme ..

… also finance renovation work on the visitor centre adjacent to St. George Church, home to the world-renowned mosaic map of the Holy Land so it can accommodate the growing number of tourists coming to the site.

There are also plans to refurbish the visitor center with an interpretation room and a new documentary film – one can only hope the Ministry of Tourism and/or the Jordanian Tourism Board will put said media online as well.

The St. George Church of Madaba saw a 104 per cent increase in visitors in the first seven months of this year, drawing 163,027 tourists through July – so it’s good to see a site so full of ancient history and of interest to Biblical tourism protected.

Here are some other related links regarding Madaba – which to me is a must see location for anyone visiting “the other Holy Land” :

• Flickr – Gauis Caecilius – Madaba
• 6th Century Mosaic Map – St. George’s Church – Madaba, Jordan – Mosaic Art Source blog
• Dave Liu Dot Com blog – Madaba
• blogJordan -New mosque dedicated to Christ in Madaba, Jordan

Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got my own pictures of the famous Madaba Mosaic to put online!

According to their source, the pan-Arab daily Al-Quds al-Arabi, a local moderate Osama Abu al-Walid is quoted as saying:

“Calling Madaba’s new mosque after the son of the Virgin Mary is an important initiative to improve dialogue in our town, whose Christian and Muslim population coexists, …”

Local imam Jamal Safarati is further quoted to say:

“In this way, we want to emphasise that Jesus is also our prophet and is loved by all Muslims,”

A sentiment this writer can confirm from his visits to Jordan, a though conveyed to me first while touring  the King Abdullah I Mosque back in 2004 … and despite some of the insufferable, anti-American propaganda endured back in November when we me with a panel from Royal Institute for Interfaith-Studies.

Madaba, is a capital city of Madaba Governorate of Jordan, which has a population of about 60.000 located about 30 miles south-west of the Jordanian capital of Amman.

Madaba is the fifth most populous town in Jordan. It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of Palestine and the Nile delta. The most famous mosaic is located in the Church of St. George in the middle of town. The Mosaic Map of Palestine represents the Holy Land and its surrounding regions. Clearly visible on the map are al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Nablus, al-Khalil (Hebron), Ariha (Jericho), Egypt and the Nile River, Turkey and Lebanon. The mosaic was made around 560 CE, originally composed of over 2.3 million pieces, and measured a staggering 25 by 5 meters.

• UPDATE  04Oct08 – ExpressBuzz has an article in this Mosque as well.