What is this place? The Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist—Christianity (Front main panel) 

This panel depicts a view from inside a church. The label reads, “What is this place? This is The Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, a Roman Catholic Church in Madaba, Jordan. The church was built in the late 1800s on top of the ruins of the ancient town of Madaba, which was abandoned about 1,100 years ago. Madaba was a popular stop along a pilgrimage route to the Holy Land in Jerusalem.” The large image spanning the panel highlights the sanctuary inside the church consisting of the altar, cross, and lectern. The walls are made of carved white stone with large arched framing. At the far end above the sanctuary, there is a stone mosaic depicting Jesus hanging from the cross accompanied by two other figures in robes standing below him. The mosaic is made of mostly red, brown, and blue stone so it stands out against the rest of the white stone wall. 

In the center of the image, the sanctuary is raised a few steps above the nave, or main flooring where the members of the congregation gather, with a long altar covered with a white cloth and a priest in purple vestments standing behind the altar. There are also stools and decorations placed around the perimeter of this area and another man in white vestments standing in the corner. In front of the steps, two women with white cloths over their hair, white coats, and long blue skirts stand facing the altar. The nave is captured in the foreground of the image, with a central aisle extending from the steps of the sanctuary and several dark wooden benches with red fabric seats forming the pews for worshipers, or congregates attending mass. Three congregates occupy the pews on the left.  

On the right side of the panel wall stands a three-dimensional column simulating the rough-edged stones found in the panel image. On the left side of the column is a beige-colored faux-stone arch with a block-shaped border along the edge. At the top of this archway inside the border is an etched and painted gold Chi Rho symbol. The Chi Rho symbol is a typographic combination of the Greek letters X (Chi) and P (Rho). This is viewed as a circle outline and inside the circle is a six-lined intersection with the top end making a P.  

Below this symbol, a video monitor plays clips of Jude, a member of the church in Madaba, reading excerpts from the liturgy book. A display case is placed below this video screen and holds the liturgy book with text in Arabic. 

Mosaic Map – Christianity (Backside of main panel—Madaba, Jordan) 

On the reverse side of the main panel, there is a zoomed in image of the oldest map of Jerusalem that has ever been found. The map is made of mosaic tiles. Some areas of the map are damaged and bare in detail and color. Other areas include varying colors of tans, black, red, blue, and yellow. Sections of the map have Arabic text and color to outline that area. Others have symbols that resemble items like towns, homes, plants, and fish. There are also areas of thin plain lines marking roadways.  

The label reads, “Christians in Madaba live in the land described in their holy scripture, the Bible.” In front of the panel wall on the left is a touchable reimagining of the mosaic map on the panel. A mosaic tile interactive stands in front of the panel wall to the right.