WHS#58

This may be a bit of an overly harsh rating for a site that I have no reason to hate, but we're talking about WHS here, and I personally don't see much OUV in this site. First off, I'm a Christian, and Bethany Beyond the Jordan was definitely one of my priorities to visit when I was in Jordan in May 2018. It's a special site for us Christians, as it's the true proven site of the baptism of Jesus himself. According to UNESCO's website, its OUV lies in its legacy of baptism, which can clearly be seen in the many pilgrims having their own baptisms in this part of the Jordan River. I had a short visit of the river itself, a Greek Orthodox church nearby, and the remains of the baptism site of Jesus' time, and I can't say it wasn't pleasant or enjoyable. Actually, I had 2 really great experiences here: seeing the pilgrims bathing on opposite sides of the river/border, and of course, seeing the actual spot where Jesus was baptized, which is quite far from today's river. The only reason for my low rating is that I just couldn't see the OUV here. I mean, how is baptism as a sacrament any different from the other 6 sacraments of the Catholic Church? How does this site hold OUV unlike the rest of the Holy Land? Yes, the ruins here are well-preserved and well-presented, but so are many others across the Holy Land. It's not like the ruins here are significantly impressive in their own right. And I am well aware of Christianity being overrepresented on the WHS List. This isn't on the level of places like Jerusalem or Bethlehem, both in terms of religious significance and value as a site today. The churches of many denominations here don't hold value as historic pilgrimage sites either. They're all fairly new. Overall, it's a site of great value for us, but I don't think it's of great value to the world as a whole. We haven't even inscribed the holiest sites of Islam, Hinduism, Shintoism, or Druze religions, so why inscribe another Christian holy site whose remains don't demonstrate anything worldly outstanding? This is why I simply don't see the OUV of this site.

Note: This is probably the lowest elevation of any WHS on land, not far upstream from the Dead Sea. Due to this, the heat here can be especially draining if visiting in the hotter months.