Jordan Sponsored Slideshow

“Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho.” Deuteronomy 34:1

Jordan’s gateway to the Red Sea, Aqaba is home to the remains of what may be one of the world’s oldest churches, which dates to the third century AD.

The old Decapolis city of Gadara (modern-day Umm Qais), with its sweeping panoramic view overlooking the Sea of Galilee, is the site of Jesus’ miracle of the Gadarene swine.

“’I baptize with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” John 1:26-28

Pope Francis prays at the Jordan River in the wilderness of Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan, the very area where Jesus came to be baptized before beginning his public ministry.

The Bible variously calls the Dead Sea the “Sea of Arabah,” the “Salt Sea,” or the “Eastern Sea.” Medieval texts refer to it as “the Devil’s Sea,” but the Arab people have always known it as Bahr Lut (Lot’s Sea).

Pilgrims may ascend the winding path to stand upon the barren hilltop and reflect upon the dramatic events that took place at this forbidding fortress while taking in the sweeping view of the Dead Sea and surrounding area. John the Baptist, who started and ended his mission in Jordan, is the patron saint of Jordan for Roman Catholics.

Within an hour’s drive from Madaba along the picturesque Kings’ Highway is Mukawir, the hilltop fortress where John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded after Salome’s fateful dance.