Madaba is just 30 km south of Amman and makes a perfect day trip. The town is famous for its stunningly beautiful Byzantine-era mosaics, above all the Madaba Map — a 6th-century mosaic map of Palestine and the Holy Land, the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the region.
You can see this mosaic in the Greek Orthodox Church of St George, set into the floor of the nave. Much of Madaba's centre is now a carefully restored Archaeological Park that includes the churches of the Virgin and the Prophet Elias, with more mosaics in excellent condition. The town also sits on the road to Mount Nebo, where Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land.