Pretty morning.

This morning we went to the Jordanian site known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan. This is purported to be the site of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist and also the site where Elijah was taken into heaven. Israel has a similar site just across the Jordan. On the Jordan side there are ruins of 5 Byzantine churches which were pilgrimage sites. This site is reportedly considered the authentic baptism site by the Catholic church, multiple Eastern Orthodox denominations, the Baptist World Alliance, among others. There are various Bible verses noted to be supportive of the baptism site being on the Jordan side of the Jordan River including John 1: 28 and John 10:40.

This is thought to be the baptism site. There are remains of a Byzantine church and chapel at the site and other Byzantine churches in the back of the site. They state that the sediment layers show that the Jordan River previously was along here. It is now just a short walk away.

This is the current Greek Orthodox Church of John the Baptist.

Inside of the church.

Jordan River

Jordanian and Israeli flags on their respective sides of the Jordan River.

There is a small museum here as well.

Byzantine pottery.

The Church of John the Baptist with Jericho in the background.

After getting lunch and relaxing by one of the many pools here, we headed back down to the Dead Sea.

Before getting in the water I coated myself in Dead Sea mud, which is supposed to be good for your skin.

We did get in. It is an odd experience because all you can really do is float, but it takes zero effort to float.

Here I am floating while washing the mud off.

When you get out of the water your skin is a bit sticky from all of the minerals and salt. Also, if you don’t rinse off right away the evaporating water leaves salt deposits on your skin.

This was our last day here as we start the journey home in the morning. This has been a great trip!