The bell tower
A tight climb to the bells and the view.
Petar Milošević — CC BY-SA 4.0 · OSAMAZ1 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mohammad hajeer — CC BY 4.0 · Mohammad hajeer — CC BY 4.0 · Mohammad hajeer — CC BY 4.0
A Roman Catholic church on the highest point of Madaba's old town, known locally as the Latin Monastery. Built in 1913, it was recognised by the Vatican on 7 December 1967 as the Shrine of the Beheading of St John the Baptist. Beneath it lie the vaults of the ancient acropolis, and its bell tower can be climbed. Christian families from Karak resettled the ruined town in 1880–81 with the help of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and in 1883 a modest church of stone and mud rose on the hilltop beside a small monastery and school. Today's church was built over it from the acropolis's own stone, and services have never stopped since. The shrine was consecrated in 2011 by Patriarch Fouad Twal, in the old fortress rooms below. Stairs lead down to those rooms: ancient columns, Byzantine-era arches and tunnels that hold the small Acropolis Museum, with mosaics and finds, and a well thought to date from Moabite times, some 3,000 years ago. In the church, paintings tell of John's imprisonment and death, and its visitor centre shows photographs of Madaba from 1902 to 1911. The narrow tower climb ends with a view over the town's rooftops. The church stands on King Talal Street, about 350 metres south of the Madaba Map Church, with the Archaeological Park and the Church of the Apostles a few minutes' walk away; Mount Nebo is about 9 km north-west. Visits pause during Mass, and Sunday is the least reliable day to visit.
A tight climb to the bells and the view.
Thought to be 3,000 years old.
Byzantine arches beneath the church.
King Talal Street, on the hilltop of Madaba's old town
Madaba Archaeological ParkA park of ruins in central Madaba holding some of the town's finest mosaics alon3 minutes walk
Madaba Map ChurchAn Orthodox church in the centre of Madaba whose floor holds the oldest known ma4 minutes walk4.3
Church of the Apostles (Madaba)A Byzantine church on the southern edge of Madaba with one of the city's largest4 minutes walkNo. Tradition places his death at Machaerus (Mukawir), the fortress of Herod Antipas about 23 km south-west of Madaba as the crow flies; the church bears the name of his beheading because of its proximity to the fortress.
The stairs are narrow and steep and end in a metal ladder into a cramped belfry, so skip it if you suffer from vertigo and keep children close. At the ticket desk visitors are asked not to ring the bells, whose ropes hang along the stairs.