[1] (Baptismal Site on the Jordan River - Qasr al-Yahud)[2]
Qasr al-Yahud (Arabic: قصر اليهود, lit. "The tower of the Jews",[3]Hebrew: קאסר אל יהוד), also known as Al-Maghtas,[1] is the western section of the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist on the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13–17). It has also been traditionally identified with two episodes from the Hebrew Bible, as one of the possible points through which the Israelites have crossed the Jordan river as they reached the Promised Land (Joshua 3), and as the site where prophet Elijah ascended to heaven (2 Kings 2:1–14).[4][5] "Qasr al-Yahud" is actually an Arabic name given to the nearby Monastery of St John the Baptist, but is also being used for the West Bank section of the baptism site itself.[6]
The Jordanian side uses the names Al-Maghtas, Bethany beyond the Jordan and Baptism(al) Site, while the western part is known as Qasr al-Yahud. The nearby Greek Orthodox Monastery of St John the Baptist has a castle-like appearance (thus qasr, "castle"), and tradition holds that the Israelites crossed the river at this spot (thus al-Yahud, "of the Jews").[8][9][10] The monastery is known in Arabic both as Deir Mr Yuhanna, lit. "Monastery of Saint John", and Qasr el-Yahud.[6]
Spelling
It is variously spelled as Kasser or Qasser, al- or el-, Yahud or Yehud etc.
As part of the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus, it has been a pilgrimage site since late antiquity.
The 6th-century Madaba Map places Bethabara ("house of the ford", "place of crossing"), a name used by some versions of the New Testament, on the west bank of the Jordan (see Al-Maghtas#Bethabara).
According to Procopius (writing c. 560 CE), Emperor Justinian I had a cistern constructed here.[12] In 1883 it was described as "still visible, in almost perfect condition".[13]
Crusader period
According to Theoderic (c. 1172), the Templars had built a castle next to the Greek monastery of St John and the Baptism site, of which no trace has been found.[14] The Templars, together with the Hospitallers, had the mission of protecting the pilgrims who came to the Holy Land in the time of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and this castle was part of a chain of Templar fortifications along the pilgrimage route down to the Jordan, which also included the castle of Maldoim halfway between Jerusalem and the river, and the fortified top of Mount Quarantana above Jericho.[14]
19th and 20th century
Russian Orthodox women visiting "Al-Maghtas" (1913)
The west side of the traditional baptism site became again a target for mass pilgrimage toward the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.[15] Later in the 20th century, a large number of churches and monasteries were built between the old Greek Orthodox Monastery of St John the Baptist and the river, an area that became known as the "Land of the Monasteries". It comprised Catholic (Franciscan), Greek, Ethiopian Orthodox, Syriac, Russian, Romanian, and Coptic churches.[16][17]
After 1967
The site was closed in 1967 during the Six-Day War.[11] The restoration project was approved before the 2000 millennium celebrations but was delayed due to the Second Intifada and flooding in the region in 2003.[4] In 2000, Pope John Paul II held a private worship at the site.[4]
After 2011
The modern site reopened in 2011.[18]Qasr al-Yahud is administered by the Israeli Civil Administration and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. In 2019, the area near the site was demined by the HALO Trust.[19]
Baptism at Qasr al-Yahud
Facilities at Qasr al-Yahud and Greek Orthodox church in Jordan, across the border
^ ab"The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 28 September 1995. Retrieved 25 November 2022. ... Palestinians shall have the right to religious pilgrimage to the Al-Maghtas under the Palestinian flag. Safe passage will be provided from the Jericho Area to Al-Maghtas for this purpose. (Annex III: Protocol Concerning Civil Affairs. Article 32: Religious Sites. Point 5.)
^Theodosios Mitropoulos, architect. "The Holy Monastery of St John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan River/Qasr-el-Yahud". The [Greek Orthodox] Patriarchate of Jerusalem – Official News Gate. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015. The Holy Monastery of St John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan River/Qasr-el-Yahud […] The perimeter walls, specifically their uppermost portion, terminate at battlements, which lend the monument the form of a Medieval castle. This is in all likelihood why its Arab name is Qasr al-Yahud [The castle of the Jews]
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