Madaba: A City You've Never Heard Of

Though many of you know about Jordan's capital Amman or the famous Petra, you probably have never heard of Madaba- "The City of Mosiacs". Driving through it you would think it was the same as any small town in Jordan, except that under nearly every house lies a fine Byzantine mosaic. Many of these historical mosaics have already been excavated and sit on display in the town's museum, but it is estimated that many more lie under the surface to be discovered.

Madaba was once a flourishing city under Roman rule and was full of temples and columns. Then, the Byzantines covered churches and other buildings with countless mosaics. Centuries later, the city was sacked by the Persians and then further demolished when an earthquake devastated the country in 747 AD.

The streets of inner Madaba are full of vendors selling everything from antique Bedouin coffee pots to painted ostrich eggs, but one store called The Virgin Mary Mosaics Workshop particularly caught my attention. The woman who owned the store once studied business in America but came back to her country to educate and help Jordanian’s in need. The woman's organization trains young women, especially the deaf, blind, and disabled, how to make mosaic artwork. The task is significant because it teaches a skilled labor to those in need of work, and to women particularly it is helpful because they learn a trade that can be practiced from home and still make enough for their families to live on.