Baptism Site witnesses upturn in visitors

The Baptism Site is witnessing an upturn in the number of visitors, with figures expected to double by the end of this month compared to August. Baptism Site Commission Director Dia Madani said some 400 pilgrims have been visiting the site daily since the beginning of September, compared to 200 or 250 in previous months. The majority of these tourists are from Europe and North America, according to Madani, who attributed the increase in tourist numbers to promoting the site as part of religious tourism packages with Palestine. In the past, some tourist spots in the Kingdom, including the Baptism Site used to be promoted as part of joint packages with Syria and Egypt, he noted. “The Baptism Site is one of the locations which witnessed a downturn in tourist numbers - reaching 70 per cent in some months - as it was part of joint packages with both Syria and Egypt,” Madani said, adding that the site is currently promoted as a stand-alone destination or part of joint religious package tours with Palestine. Approximately 6,000 tourists visited the site in August 2011, a 40 per cent drop compared to the same month in 2010, according to figures he presented. Meanwhile, construction work on the Russian Pilgrimage House at the site is almost completed and the facility is expected to be inaugurated in December 2011, according to Madani. The 40-room guest house is being built on a 10-dunum plot of land donated by His Majesty King Abdullah. The Russian government financed the construction of the facility, which will be managed by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Baptism Site, also known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan and Al Maghtas in Arabic, is the site where Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist This point on the eastern bank of the Jordan River is considered one of the most significant religious discoveries in biblical archaeology. Excavations have already uncovered more than 20 churches, caves and baptismal pools dating from the Roman and Byzantine periods.