The "Mighty" Jordan River Isn't...

From the Temple Mount we bused for an hour to the Jordan River.  One of the best places to get right down to the water is a place where many churches come to practice baptisms--kind of interesting to have wooden steps and metal handrails down into the murky water.  Is this the site where John the Baptist met the Christ and baptized him?   Probably not.  

The Jordan meanders down through a flat valley.  It would be astonishing if the channel hadn't moved at all in the last 2000 years.  But still, the event occurred somewhere near here.

 

Cool water, cloudy with silt.  I hope it was cleaner back in Jesus' day.

Other events we discussed:  Joshua crossing with the children of Israel--also near here.

With a river about the size of an irrigation canal where I come from in Idaho as the border,

we could see Jordanian guards on their side,

and there were Israeli guards on our side--at ease, to be sure, but still there.

The water is only about 5 feet deep, so it would have been quite easy to splash across,

but somehow, it wasn't tempting.

 And then there was the no-man's-land just back from the river.

The mines are left from previous wars (1948 and 1967).

Israel and Jordan have the best relationship of any of the Arab countries--a kind of wary, you-don't-bother-us-and-we-won't-bother-you relationship.

We drove along up the valley to Galilee, and Israel maintains a wide, buffer-zone along the river.

It seemed a waste that in such a small country, so much land couldn't be utilized in agriculture.

The really amazing thing was the climate change.

With an hour bus ride north to Galilee, we were suddenly in an area with orange and banana groves.

Lots of green to contrast with the desert earlier in the afternoon.