AFor the Creative City (UNESCO 2017) Capital of Arab Tourism 2022 (Madaba, City of Mosaics)

The municipality of Madaba is located on latitude 31 north of the equator 35 east of Greenwich, and at a distance of 33 km southwest of the capital, Amman, and it is the center of the governorate. Its population is 173,304 thousand people, and its area is 450 km².

The name Madaba was derived from a Syriac Aramaic word, which is a compound of two words: (Mia) and (Eba). The first word (miya) means water, and the second word (iba) means fruit, so its meaning is fruit water, and the first mention of the city of Madaba appeared in the Torah in the twelfth century BC when crowds of Hebrews arrived in the region under the leadership of Moses, peace be upon him, and many civilizations came to the city, most notably; Moabite 1160 BC, Nabatean, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic.

The Kingdom of Moab settled in the region south of the Mujib River, and its capital was (Qirhares), i.e. Karak, but with the passage of time, this kingdom began to expand northward, so they crossed the Hisban region and seized the lands. Madaba was one of their most famous cities, in addition to Karak, Ma’in, Umm al-Rasas, and Dhiban. One of the oldest things recorded about Madaba dates back to a memorial to King Mesha in 1180 BC, which was erected as a memorial in commemoration.For the glories of Mesha bin Qamush, and during the reign of this king, Madaba took on special importance because it was a holy place for the god of Moab. Since the sixth century BC, the Nabataeans began to establish what was known as the Nabatean Kingdom on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea, expanding north and south. During four centuries, the Nabataeans took control of most of the cities of the region, including the city of Madaba, which came under their control during the reign of King Aretas I in 169 BC. It was inhabited at that time by the Banu Yamri.

The Romans entered the region in the year 63 BC. BC, where Bombay took control of Syria and spread to the south, but Al-Harith Al-Nabati prevented him from entering the region, and on March 22, 106, the province of Nabatia was transformed into a Roman province by a Roman decree, and Bosra was its capital. The Romans built roads from Damascus to Bosra and some important cities such as Madaba, and the Romans at that time designated the city of Madaba according to the principles of Roman city planning, They surrounded the city with walls and built ponds to provide water, in addition to wells.

When visiting the city of Madaba in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, it becomes clear to the visitor that this city was active during the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic eras in developing this art, and it became a major feature of most of the architectural remains left by those civilizations, as mosaic floors were found in palaces,And temples, churches, and public houses, to decorate and beautify these architectural buildings, in a way that suits the religious and social concepts and the surrounding environment.

These floors were decorated with general themes of social and religious life and the surrounding environment in different forms, and they gradually developed over the ages. They began with large cube stone pieces, then small ones. Size, coloured, and glazed.

Through archaeological excavations and discoveries that appeared over the past century in the city of Madaba, many of these floors appeared in huge sites, and hardly an archaeological site is devoid of the concepts of this art and its remains that immortalized the memory of the peoples and cultures that inhabited this city throughout its ages.

Madaba Modern is the product of familiarity and love between its residents from different backgrounds. Just as the Madaba mosaics beautify it and give it fame, the people of Madaba give it the image and ideal of common life and cooperation. Madaba, like Jordan, has a specificity in the Ammonite, Moabite, Nabataean, and Edomite civilizations. It gave Jordan a diverse and unique spiritual and cultural specificity that blended with the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Christian and Islamic cultures, to be A fountainIt is unique in its beliefs and legends, and is not matched by the heritage of any region.

The city is characterized by its touristic character because it provides the elements of religious and therapeutic tourism due to the presence of religious sites in its various areas, salts and minerals in the Hammamet Ma’in area, in addition to the diversity of the climate in the various regions of the governorate, which encourages tourists and hikers to come to these areas throughout the year. Madaba is full of many important archaeological sites, including: The Omari Mosque, the Church of the Map, the Church of the Apostles, the Church of Al-Khader, the Church of the Virgin Mary, the Church of the Prophet Elijah, the Sewn, Makawir (Gallows), Dhiban, Atarz, Hasban, Masuh, Umm al-Rasas, Al-Lahoun, Al-Jubail, Al-Zafaran, and Al-Mashgar.

It contains Mount Nebo, which overlooks the Dead Sea, the lowest region in the world. It is also located in The governorate is a Palestinian refugee camp supported by the Jordanian government and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

The city of Madaba joined the Creative Cities Network in 2017 after being nominated by the World Crafts Council of UNESCO in 2016 for the craft and folk arts of the stone mosaic craft, as it contains the most important scientific edifice, the “Madaba Institute.” For mosaic art and restoration”; It is the only one of its kind in the world that graduates students with a degreeIntermediate diploma, and teaches this craft. Also, one of the most important sites in Madaba is the site of the Map Church, and the well-known site of Mount Nebo. The Pope visited Madaba in 2000 and approved the Christian pilgrimage route (Baptism and Nebo).

Finally, the city of Madaba was nominated as the Arab Tourism Capital for the year 2022 by the Arab Tourism Organization, after meeting all standards and conditions among Arab cities for this year. .     

Madaba Governorate is inhabited by a large population, with its population in 2024 reaching approximately 228,200 people.