Image Details

Konstantinos Politis

Putting Zoar on the Map. In the sixth-century A.D. Madaba mosaic map, Zoar (identified in Greek as Zoora at center in the detail) is depicted as a fortified urban settlement with red-roofed buildings (indicating monasteries and churches) located on the fertile, palm-covered shores of the southeastern Dead Sea. Politis identifies Byzantine Zoara with the site of Khirbet Sheik ‘Isa in the Ghor es-Safi region, a thriving Byzantine town with substantial buildings, beautiful mosaic pavements and towering fortifications. Depicted above Zoar on the map and nestled against the multi-hued mountains of Moab is the “place” (or monastery) of St. Lot, which Politis has identified with the site of Deir ‘Ain ‘Abata.