Qasr al-Yahud


Qasr al-Yahud, also known as Al-Maghtas, is the western section of the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist on the Jordan River. 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, and as the site where prophet Elijah ascended to heaven. "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.
The spot is located in Area C of the West Bank and it sits directly across the eastern section and close to the Palestinian city of Jericho. Since the Six-Day War in 1967, the baptism site has been under Israeli occupation, and the site and facilities are currently administered by the Israeli Civil Administration and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism as part of a national park, where baptism ceremonies can be performed.

Etymology

The Jordanian side uses the names Al-Maghtas, Bethany beyond the Jordan and Baptism 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, and tradition holds that the Israelites crossed the river at this spot. The monastery is known in Arabic both as Deir Mr Yuhanna, lit. "Monastery of Saint John", and Qasr el-Yahud.

Spelling

It is variously spelled as Kasser or Qasser, al- or el-, Yahud or Yehud etc.

Location

Qasr al-Yahud is located in the West Bank, a little southeast from Jericho, and is part of the Jericho Governorate Since the Six-Day War in 1967, it has been under Israeli occupation, and the site and facilities are currently administered by the Israeli Civil Administration and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism as part of a national park.

Significance

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, a name used by some versions of the New Testament, on the west bank of the Jordan.

History

Antiquity

Qasr al-Yahud is close to the ancient road and river ford connecting Jerusalem, via Jericho, to several Transjordanian biblical sites such as Madaba, Mount Nebo and the King's Highway.
According to Procopius, Emperor Justinian I had a cistern constructed here. In 1883 it was described as "still visible, in almost perfect condition".

Crusader period

According to Theoderic, 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. 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.

19th and 20th century

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. 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, Greek, Ethiopian Orthodox, Syriac, Russian, Romanian, and Coptic churches.

After 1967

The site was closed in 1967 during the Six-Day War. 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. In 2000, Pope John Paul II held a private worship at the site.

After 2011

The modern site reopened in 2011. 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.