Church of St. Stephen complex
Informative photo tour through the Church of St. Stephen complex at Umm er-Rasas, including several churches, chapels and adjacent structures.
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The mosaic of the nave of the Church of Saint Stephen displays city plans of three different geographical areas of the the Byzantine Imperium, each plan accompanied by its toponym, or place name in Greek script:
In the intercolumnar spaces of the north row (left) eight cities west of the Jordan River are depicted. In the south row (right), seven cities east of the river are shown, starting with the double plan of Kastron Mefaa (top right).
The inner geographical frame of the carpet is decorated as a river stream with fish, birds, and water flowers. Floating among them are boats and boys fishing or hunting. The continuous scene is interrupted by ten city plans of localities of the Nile Delta. The Nile was considered to be one of the four rivers of Paradise, and was therefore part of Christian sacred geography.
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© Photo: Haupt & Binder
Informative photo tour through the Church of St. Stephen complex at Umm er-Rasas, including several churches, chapels and adjacent structures.