The amazing hot springs that have little-known biblical significance.
in the Bible: King Herod frequented the healing springs at Ma’in (when these waters were known as Baaras) and built a villa at nearby Mukawer. According to tradition, it was at that villa that Salome danced and John the Baptist was beheaded (Matthew 14: 1-12).
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
This story proved popular in Christian art from an early period and became especially popular during the Renaissance, exemplified by the work of the painter Masolino da Panicale. Salome was also strikingly portrayed by the 19th-century artists Gustave Moreau and Aubrey Beardsley. Oscar Wilde’s one-act play Salomé (published 1893; first performed 1896) was translated by Hedwig Lachmann as the libretto for Richard Strauss’s one-act opera of the same name (first produced 1905), in which Herod is portrayed as lusting after Salome, while Salome, in her turn, desires John the Baptist; she finally satisfies her corrupt wishes by kissing the lips of the severed head of John, who had spurned her. Hence, Salome has become an erotic symbol in art, and it is likely that it is her provocative “Dance of the Seven Veils” in the Strauss opera that most people connect with her name, although no such dance is mentioned in the Bible.
The beautiful mineral hot springs and waterfalls of Hammamat Ma’in are located near the Dead Sea. Herod the Great is believed to have bathed at the Ma’in hot springs, known then as Belemounta. Since then, people have enjoyed these baths for centuries. You can enjoy them as well: There is a luxury resort with a spa located here!
Ma’in is a glorious hot spring waterfall resort situated right beside the Dead Sea. Nestled just 30 kilometers from the city of Madaba,and At an impressive 264 meters below sea level, visitors can find themselves relaxing beside the Ma’in waterfalls and gazing up at the stunning mountainous backdrop is only 15 minutes.
Popular with both locals and tourists alike, the springs are located 264 m below sea level in one of the most breathtaking desert oases in the world. Thousands of visiting bathers come each year to enjoy the mineral-rich waters of these hyper-thermal waterfalls. These falls originate from winter rainfalls in the highland plains of Jordan and eventually feed the 109 hot and cold springs in the valley. This water is heated to temperatures of up to 63° Celsius by underground lava fissures as it makes its way through the valley before emptying into the Zarqa River.
he springs, located on the edge of Wadi Mujib, feed the Dead Sea.
