After we went to the Dead Sea, we drove a few minutes away to a specific spot in the Jordan river. Kasser Al-Yahud.
Kasser Al-Yahud is famous for multiple things, the main one being that it is where Jesus was baptized. It is also where the Israelites crossed the Jordan river after being in the dessert for 40 years. And supposedly where Elijah went to heaven. And where the captain of the Syrian king’s army was healed of leprosy.
While we were there, we saw some people get baptized. Many Christians go to this spot to be baptized even if they have already been baptized because Jesus was baptized there.
The Jordan river is part of the border between Jordan and Israel so on one side of the river (the side we were on) the were Israeli tourists, and on the other side, there were Jordanian tourists. The was a sign on the river that said ‘border ahead’ because the border is in the water.
Nearby the baptism site, there were lots of churches (on the Jordanian side and the Israeli side) because it is a holy place for Christians.
It was a really cool site, and I’m glad I got to go.
-Naomi
The side with more people is Israel and Jordan is on is on the other side of the buoys