By amberherrle
Last Thursday my program took us on an excursion and our first stop was the baptism site. A mere one hour drive from Amman, just along the Jordan river, you can visit the spot where archeologists and theologists believe that Jesus was baptized. Walking to the site, you walk down a trail that, as so many of these college-educated young people put it "really feels like all the stuff you read in the bible". Yes, it does.
The Jordan river today looks different than the Jordan river that Jesus was baptized in; the baptism site is about a 10 minute walk from the river.
The baptism site was newly excavated to reveal an intricate pool and water system from 1 AD (yes, you read that right.). Most interesting to me was that almost every Christian denomination was constructing or has constructed a church in this area of the Jordan valley. A 360 picture taken from the Baptism site would reveal a Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Catholic, Baptist, and a Presbyterian church. It was pretty amazing to think of what Christmas Eve must look and sound like from this sacred place.
Walking away from the Baptism Site, you'll arrive at the Jordan River. I had expected a vast and strong river but the Jordan River at the point closest to the baptism site is a mere 20 feet wide.
This came as a surprise to me - we were on the Jordanian side of the river and the opposite side revealed the West Bank, just a quick breast-stroke away (don't worry mom and dad, I didn't try it). I struggled to understand the political and social implications of my presence in this sacred spot. In the picture above, you can see the infrastructural differences on the sides. On the Jordanian side, a noninvasive dock lets you dip your feet into the Jordanian water or relax on the wood benches a few feet away. On the other side, an expansive and elaborate tourism office sits with a series of steps to get into the river.
Interestingly, the tourism office has an Israeli flag, souring as high as the eye can see above the building. Wow! Israel on one side, Jordan on the other side - crazy. As with so many things in this region, it is not that simple. This particular area was originally partitioned as Palestine and the nearest city, Jericho is a Palestinian governed city. But, the Israeli Tourism and Security forces occupy the area and this particular site is considered Israeli's second most holy site in the country. So is it Israel or Palestine across from me? That depends who you're asking.
After a deep conversation with myself about what the political and social implications of me posting that photo on Facebook and calling the land across the river "Israel" were, we drove to the Dead Sea.
No one prepared me for the sheer beauty of the Dead Sea. I was so unprepared for how amazing this experience would be that I spent 30% of my time screaming "I HAD NO IDEA THIS WOULD BE LIKE THIS!!!". The water was every shade of blue and green with patches of completely clear water that revealed the salty rocks beneath the water. Another thing I wasn't prepared for was the absolute pain of stepping on all this wonder - the shallow parts of the Dead Sea are terrible. I have scrapes all over my body because the ground was so jagged and painful and resulted in my falling onto the rocks and then scraping my body more. BUT, I cannot emphasize how absolutely beautiful the beach and the water was. Even with my many scrapes, I am still so in awe of the Dead Sea.