Just as Singapore celebrated our Botanic Gardens being listed as our first-ever UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), many might have barely noticed or were not aware that Jesus’ baptism site in Jordan, also known as “Bethany beyond the Jordan” (Jn 1.25-28), where He was baptised by John the Baptist along the Jordan River, was also amongst the 24 newly inscribed WHSs at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Bonn, Germany.
The baptism site has an official commission that manages pilgrims (many who come to be baptised), averaging 100,000 a year, and visitors (which have included 3 Popes and world leaders from UK, Russia, Europe, Middle East, and even Singapore, our very own then-President Nathan in Nov 2006). It is believed that the UNESCO inscription will likely boost tourism, especially the millions of Christians who could be interested in being baptised in the Jordan River at the same place as Jesus.
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