Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (Al-Maghtas)

Christian tradition holds that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist here, on the east bank of the River Jordan just north of the Dead Sea. Al-Maghtas preserves two clusters of remains — Tell al-Kharrar, associated with the prophet Elijah, and the riverside churches raised over the baptism site — with Roman and Byzantine chapels, hermit caves and baptism pools among tamarisk groves. UNESCO inscribed 'Bethany Beyond the Jordan' in 2015, and pilgrims still descend to the water.