Number 1 on Bucket List for Jordan

When visiting biblical Jordan, any number of sites are a must-see.  These are the baptismal site on the Jordan River, Pella, Mount Nebo and Petra.

Having visited all these sites, number 1 on my "bucket list" for Jordan is Machaerus.

Machaerus

Machaerus was one of numerous fortresses built by Herod the Great in defense of his kingdom.  It was basically a renovation of an older Hashmonean outpost around 30 BCE.

Scholars generally agree that Herod Antipas imprisoned John the Baptist here.  It was also at Machaerus that Herod was smitten by the dance of his step-daughter to the degree that he offered "the world" but ended up serving John's head on a silver platter.

Gyozo Voros, in a recent article for Biblical Archaeology Review, styles Machaerus as the "Golgotha of John the Baptist."  This connection to John and the site itself beckon me to visit soon.