Twenty miles southwest of Amman, on a plateau more than 2,500 feet above sea level, Madaba feels like a small market town that happens to be sitting on some of the most remarkable ancient art in the world. The breezy elevation makes it cooler than the Jordan Valley below, and its walkable streets and relaxed pace made it a natural first stop on a day that would take us from Roman-era mosaics to a mountaintop of biblical significance, a sea you simply cannot sink in, and finally south to the Red Sea coast at Aqaba. It was, by any measure, one of the most densely packed and memorable days of the entire trip.
