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Al Maghtas
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Al Maghtas

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Al-Maghtas ( ), officially known as Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan", is an archaeological World Heritage Site in Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River, reputed to be the location of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and venerated as such since at least the Byzantine period. The place has also been referred to as Bethabara () and historically Bethany () or Bethany Beyond the Jordan (see below).

Key facts

Historic site.name
Al-Maghtas
Historic site.other_name
Bethany Beyond the Jordan
Historic site.native_name
المغطس
Historic site.native_language
ar
Historic site.image
Bethany (5).JPG
Historic site.caption
Excavation of baptism site
Historic site.locmapin
Jordan
Historic site.location
Balqa Governorate, Jordan
UNESCO World Heritage Site.child
yes
UNESCO World Heritage Site.official_name
Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" (Al-Maghtas)
UNESCO World Heritage Site.criteria
(iii)(vi)
UNESCO World Heritage Site.ID
1446
UNESCO World Heritage Site.year
2015

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Named after
Baptism of Jesus
Country
Jordan
Area
957.178
Image
Bethany (5).JPG
Show 2 more facts
heritage designation
World Heritage Site
Commons category
Baptism place
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~19 min read

Encyclopedic overview

27 sections
Contents
  • Names
  • Bethany
  • Bethabara
  • Al-Maghtas
  • Geography
  • Religious significance
  • Israelites' crossing of the Jordan
  • Prophet Elijah
  • Baptism of Jesus
  • Historicity
  • History and archaeology
  • Pre-Roman settlement
  • Roman and Byzantine periods
  • Early Muslim period
  • Mamluk and Ottoman periods
  • Rediscovery after 1994 and tourism
  • Features
  • Tell el-Kharrar or Elijah's Hill and the baptismal pools
  • Bankside area (Zor)
  • Hermitages
  • Tombs
  • UNESCO involvement
  • Site management
  • See also
  • References
  • Bibliography
  • External links

Al-Maghtas ( ), officially known as Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan", is an archaeological World Heritage Site in Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River, reputed to be the location of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and venerated as such since at least the Byzantine period. The place has also been referred to as Bethabara () and historically Bethany () or Bethany Beyond the Jordan (see below).

Al-Maghtas includes two principal archaeological areas: the remnants of a monastery on a mound known as Jabal Mar-Elias () and an area close to the river with remains of churches, baptism ponds and pilgrim and hermit dwellings. The two areas are connected by a stream called Wadi Kharrar ().

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Al Maghtas” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (6)

On the map

2 mapped locations