UMM AR-RASAS
This rectangular walled city is mentioned in both the Old
and New Testaments of the Bible. It was fortified by the Romans and
subsequently embellished by local Christians with Byzantine –style mosaics over
100 years into the start of the Muslim Umayyad rule. Most of the city now lies
in ruins, but there are several structures in its eastern part that have been
excavated and restored.
Just outside the city walls is the recently unearthed Church
of Saint Stephen.Its perfectly preserved outstanding mosaic floor is the
largest of its kind to be discovered in Jordan; second only to the world famous
mosaic map at Madaba. The mosaic depicts the images of 27 Old and New Testament
cities of the Holy Land, both east and west of the River Jordan.
Just 2 km north of Umm Ar- Rasas is the highest standing
ancient tower in Jordan, rising 15m high with no door or inner staircase.
Believed to have been used as a place of solitude by early Christian
monks,today it is inhabited only by flocks of birds.
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