Madaba and Mimar

Although I have known about the city of Madaba, located about 3 miles west of the school, ever since I arrived in Jordan and even made several trips there, I never really had my own feel for the place until last week. Madaba is the fifth most populace city in Jordan with 60,000 inhabitants . It is known as the city of mosaics because it is home to beautiful examples of Byzantine and Umayyad mosaic work as well as skilled mosaic artisans who make, in my opinion, exquisite masterpieces. It is also known for having a significant Christian population-at one point comprising about half the population but now about one third. Madaba’s most well known mosaic is without a doubt its mosaic map of the holy land. Although some parts are missing, it is one of the oldest geographically correct representations of the holy land in existence. Its detail is so great that it actually depicts locations and landmarks within the city of Jerusalem as well as in other cities represented on the map. The map dates back from the 6th century AD and is located on the floor St. George’s Church, a church built in the 19th century on top of the remains of the original building that housed the mosaic map. Handcrafted mosaic copies of the map and specific locations on the map can be purchased from the many artisans in the surrounding area. Just to say something on these handcrafted mosaics, I think they are some of the most beautiful pieces of artwork that I have ever seen and I now want to see as many original and copied mosaics as I can. If anyone would like to see pictures of these mosaics or to give me money to buy some mosaics for them , then just let me know. I said before that I didn’t have my own feel for Madaba until last week. When I say I have a feel for the city I really mean to say that I have a good idea of the history and layout of the city, as well as a familiarity with a neighborhood(s) of the city. I now have a familiarity with one of the mosaic of the Madaba. In this area, I and many of the other junior fellows visit/have visited a falafel shop, a café, a cake and ice cream parlor, a well known, full restaurant and craft complex, St. George’s church, mosaic shops, and MIMAR. MIMAR (Madaba Institute for Mosaic Art and Restoration) is the future name of the Madaba Mosaic School, a school that educates and instructs high school students in the art of mosaic construction and preservation. It is located right next the Madaba Archeological park, a museum affiliated with the Department of antiquities whose collection includes mosaics built on site as well as mosaics brought from the surrounding region. Some of these mosaics are much better than the mosaic map in terms of the quality of the representation and their preserved status. The mosaic map is simply more well known because of its historical and religious significance. Now, the reason that I only came to acquire my own feel for Madaba just last week is that I am now volunteering at MIMAR once a week. Several other junior fellows and I are assisting a school faculty member, who is also a trained art historian, to catalogue the school’s library collection. The collection itself isn’t really that amazing but it does include written works on Jordan, Madaba, and mosaics in general. These works are about 25-40 years old and are in some cases no longer in print. Also, some of these works are written in Italian and/or French because it was originally the French and Italians were primarily involved in the excavation and restoration of these mosaics. Now, however, it is a mix of Jordan, the U.S., as well as various European organizations who are expected to provide funds for current and future projects, either restoration projects or projects to help the tourism and mosaic industry grow. Now, all I’m doing in Madaba and with MIMAR is literally helping to catalogue the library. I simply take a piece of paper write down the name, number, and a brief description of the book and its content. I wouldn’t exactly call the work fun, but it is nice to get off campus and be involved with something in Jordan besides the school.