I enjoyed attending my friend's wedding in Egypt a month ago. Prior to the long day ceremonies, I had the pleasure to meet his close friends, well-put-together professionals, articulate and full of the famous Egyptian sense of humor. As soon as any of them found out that I come from Jordan, one question kept popping up in the conversations, " Is it true that the Jordan River level is going down and it's so thin now? Is Israel the reason?" I was surprised that they are even aware of that information. I was even fascinated by how it seemed so important to Egyptians. So naturally I asked how come that all of you seem to be aware and interested in such a topic. Egypt surely has its own water supply issues and Nile conflicts.
One of them explained: " The baptism site of Jesus Christ is on the river. The community is concerned if the river keeps decreasing, the baptism site would dry out". The concern made sense to me. Since it's a Christian wedding, and the Christian community shares such concern, they hoped I have a first hand answer to the question at hand. After all, it's a site of high holiness status that three Pops have visited since its discovery in Jordan. However, I have never been to the site nor I had an idea of how it looks like.
As soon as I went back to Jordan, I decided to dig for some first-account answers. So I booked the full tour to see the baptism site. Here is what I found.
The consensus is that, in ancient times, the river path and the spot of the baptism bath were connected as its displayed by a beautiful mosaic standing at the site. Here is a photo:
The Romans took extra effort to maintain a big church and facilities at the location. Archeologists found that the first church built in the location was flooded by the river. Then, they built a second one on top of the first one ruins. Then a third one on top of the second to withstand the river floodings. Such importance to place and the magnitude of dedication to preserving it.
The site design has stone steps from the church and down into the water leading to the bathing spot. A hundred years ago, most of the steps would have been submerged under water surface. here is how it looks like today:
Jordan River is unable to feed the baptism site. The river is so small today that is too far to reach the baptism site. I had to walk about at least a hundred meter to reach river's bank.
The literature says that 1964 was the year Israel took control of Tabarya Lake in the north and diverted its water feed from Jordan river. In 1967, Israel had control over the Golan Heights (occupied land from Syria). Golan Heights has most of the water supply that feeds into the Jordan river. The Jordan river is a minimal version of what it once was because 70% to 90% of the water supply is being diverted for human processing. worth mentioning that Jordan and Syria divert small portions from Yarmouk river.
Christians who wish to be baptized by the Jordan River today cannot use the baptism site. They have to walk to the new slimmed river itself. Here is a view of the river site:
I hope this answers the questions of my new Christian friends. Further to the concern, it is also estimated that the Dead Sea will dry out within the coming 80 years as it decreases as much as a full meter in depth each year.
This left me with a realization of an irony worth noting. Western Christians have wholeheartedly supported Zionism to create a country. The same country that actively and knowingly dried up one of the Christian's holiest sites; where Jesus himself was baptized by John the Baptist. A Shakespearian dark twist in modern history.
- Child of Handala
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