The Church of St. George in the Jordanian city of Salt (30 kilometers northwest of the capital, Amman) is considered one of the oldest churches in Jordan.

The church is located on Al-Khader Street in the Old City and was built during the period of Ottoman rule in the year 1682, among old antique buildings or stone houses with an oriental architectural heritage.

Al-Khader Church opens its doors daily from seven in the morning until seven in the evening, to receive visitors who listen to an explanation about the history of the church that was built on a cave, and they also listen to historical and popular narratives about the history of the church.

Upon arriving at the church, the visitor sees at its entrance a large icon of Saint George riding his horse with his spear sheathed in a dragon, in addition to rocks decorated with icons, and a glass box containing the remains of Saint George’s bones.

The site of the church was also a castle, and popular stories tell that a man from the Haddad clan in Salt was grazing his sheep on the site. He went to collect firewood and when he returned in the evening he found the castle door closed and would not open until the next morning.

The shepherd took refuge in a cave near the castle, and woke up at night to the voice of Saint George, who appeared to him in person and saw him on the back of his horse with a spear in his hand defeating the dragon, so he asked him to build a church for him.

The shepherd told the saint that “people will not believe a man like me,” but George said to him: I will give you a sign: leave your sheep to graze alone so that the beasts will never approach them, and go and tell the people that you saw me.

The people did not believe the shepherd before they went with him to the cave and saw the sheep grazing while the wolves did not approach them. They donated to the shepherd to build the church in its current location.

The cave is the witness to the repeated appearances of Saint George in the place. It is a continuous and extended stone cave with oil coming out of its rocks.

The visitor prostrates in front of the cave to ask for the saint’s intercession and pray to the Lord to fulfill his needs. Many visitors write their wishes on a piece of paper and place them in the cave, hoping that the saint’s intercession will help in fulfilling their wishes.

At the end of the visit to the Shrine of George, an icon of the saint, incense, and holy oil are distributed to visitors who can go to Al-Khader Heritage Street to shop from stores selling religious antiques, as well as Al-Khader Bazaar, which includes heritage artifacts made by the local community