Visitors in another group stood on riverbank steps or in the water itself as two men in black, apparently clerical attire poured river water over their heads. Several people in flowing white robes waded in from the West Bank recently, posing in a semicircle for photos. UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site “of immense religious significance to the majority of denominations of Christian faith, who have accepted this site as the location where Jesus” was baptized. In an interview, Rustom Mkhjian, director general of the Baptism Site Commission in Jordan, spoke passionately about the Jordanian site’s claim to authenticity and its preservation as it was in the time of Christ and John the Baptist. While he is not as religious as his mother, the 24-year-old still considered his visit to the Jordanian site special: “What made it surreal is to think that this is what started the world movement of Christianity.” so I can show her that it was true,” Watts said. Others touched the river and crossed themselves or bent over to fill empty bottles.Ĭharlie Watts, a tourist from England, submerged a wooden cross - a gift and a blessing for his Christian mother back home. Championing the transboundary Jordan’s revival without wading into the thicket of the disputes that have fueled its deterioration can be a challenge.Īt the Jordanian baptismal site on the eastern bank recently, a woman dipped her feet in the waters and then cupped some with her hands, rubbing it on her face and over her head. Its decline, due to a confluence of factors, is intertwined with the entanglements of the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict and rivalry over precious water in a valley where so much is contested. Physically, the Lower Jordan River of today is a lot more meager than mighty.īy the time it reaches the baptismal site, its dwindling water looks sluggish, a dull brownish green shade. Symbolically and spiritually, the river is of mighty significance to many. Tourists and pilgrims come to the site from near and far, many driven by faith, to follow in Christ’s footsteps, to touch the river’s water, to connect with biblical events. “I have not ever walked where Jesus walked, for one thing.”

“It’s very profound,” said the 53-year-old visitor from Indiana. She needed time to reflect, to let it sink in that she had just briefly soaked her feet in the water where Jesus is said to have been baptized, in the Jordan River.

ALONG THE JORDAN RIVER (AP) - Kristen Burckhartt felt overwhelmed.

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