The Church of St Lot and St Procopius

I have one final post from Jordan.  The Church of St Lot and St Procopius is located about 3 miles from Mt. Nebo in the municipality of Khirbet Mukhayyat.  The church was built in 557 and has almost intact mosaics of daily life.  It also has some fantastic figures, like seahorses.  It is near to the major tourist attractions of Mt. Nebo and St. George, the Map Church, in Madaba.   It is not on any bus line and you really need a taxi to take you to the top of the hill to see the church.  Then you have to find the caretaker who will unlock the church.  The trek is worth it.

The story they tell at the church is that a Bedouin camp was set on the hill.  They built a fire and found that their fire was on a layer of sand covering the mosaic.  This is why there are burn marks on the floor of the Church.   The Franciscan Archeological Institute built a structure over the floor to protect the mosaics, which, other than the burn, are in remarkable shape.  Below are pictures of winemaking from the floor of the church.

 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.