Ma'in Hot Springs - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

A fortified hilltop palace, it is the location of the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist. It was originally built by the Hasmonean king, Alexander Jannaeus (104 BC-78 BC) in about the year 90 BC. The hilltop, which stands about 1,100 meters above Dead Sea level, is surrounded on all sides by deep ravines which provide great natural strength.

The surface and the shores of the dead sea are 425 meters below the sea level, making it Earth's lowest elevation on land. It is also one of the saltiest water bodies in the world- 9.6 times as salty as the oceans making plant and animal life impossible in Dead Sea.

It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land. The West Bank city of Jericho and Jerusalem are visible from the summit on a very clear day.

Established to preserve and make accessible to the public archaeological remains from Roman times and several valuable Byzantine mosaic floors.

The Madaba Map, also known as the Madaba Mosaic Map, is part of a floor mosaic in the church. The Madaba Map is of the Middle East, and part of it contains the oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem. It dates to the 6th century AD.

Situated in the Jordanian Desert, the site has been allied to the biblical settlement of Mephaat mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah. The Roman military utilized the site as a strategic garrison, but it was later converted and inhabited by Christian and Islamic communities. The mosaic floor of the Church of St Stephen made in 785 (discovered after 1986) is the most important discovery on the site. The perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest in Jordan.