II - Madaba Map - Section A: - a photo on Flickriver

            The Jordan River Valley 
The Jordan river meanders in the Jordan Valley and runs into the Dead Sea
We note some tributaries of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.  Three fish swim in the Jordan river; remains of a fourth can be seen on the left. The fish on the right side is well advised to swim against the stream, by that he is kept alive. East of the Jordan River, near the Greek inscription  «ΑΙΝΩΝ ΕΝΘΑ ΝΥΝ Ο ϹΑΠϹΑΦΑϹ» - Aonon where now is Sapspahas - a lion whose destroyed body has been scantily repaired, is pursuing a graceful little gazelle. Gazelles exist in Palestine even now, though less than in former times. Lions, well attested in the Bible and in other literary sources, have retired to inner Africa; the last ones were mentioned in the Lives of Saints and Monks from the Middle Ages. The reported inscription marks a place where St. John the Baptist was said to have baptized.
Near the confluence between Jordan River and Dead See, on the river west bank, the inscription reporting the name of ΒΕΘΑΒΑΡΑ - Bethabara (Bethania) - localizes the sanctuary of St. John of the Baptism: «Βεθαβαρα τὸ τοῦ άγίου Ἰωάννου τοῦ Βαπτίσματοϲ». The church represented on the map was built by the emperor Anastasius (491 – 518).
The Jordan River is crossed by two ferries passing along ropes across the river. It is difficult to determine their exact places, because the Jordan River often changed its bed and flow in the soft marly soil. Near the southern ferry we see a watch-tower built upon an arch with a ladder leading up to it, probably constructed so because of the ﬂoods. This watch-tower was used by a military garrison to protect and control the crosswalk. 
The Dead Sea shows blue-greyish waves and seems to be lashed about by wind blowing from north to south as is clear from the two ships on the Dead Sea. The left one is being rowed, with its sail folded. It has a crew of two, almost completely destroyed and roughly repaired: the left one is rowing, and the right one seems to be the commander. This ship is carrying some sort of whitish material - perhaps salt —, and is heading north. There was, indeed, trading navigation on the Dead Sea in antiquity
On the west bank of the Jordan River, four towers and two gates represent the important city of IΕΡΙΧΩ – Jericho. Inside the wall there are three churches, two of them with red roofs and one with a yellow triangular pediment.

Byzantine Mosaic
6th century AD
Church of Saint George, Madaba, Jordan

   

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Taken on: May 15, 2014

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Giordania

Madaba

Gerico

“Jordan

River”

Giordano

“dead

Sea”

“Mar

Morto”

Palestine

Palestina

Israel

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Jerusalem

Gerusalemme

“Mosaico

Pavimentale”

“Byzantine

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art”

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Bizantino”

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“Chiesa

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“Church

Saint

George”

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Sets appears in: • Jordan: The Byzantine Map of Mabada

Groups appears in: • Late Antiquity • The Ancient World more » • Chiron, CC images of the Classical World • World Archaeology & Arts/ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΑ&ΤΕΧΝΕΣ-Rea • Syria/Lebanon/palestine/Jordan بلاد الشام • Heritage Key • Byzantine Architecture [only before 1453 please] • Photos at the Museum • ANCIENT WORLD « less

Camera: Nikon D800, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, 24mm, ISO 3200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D800
Lens:	14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	24mm
ISO:	3200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)
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