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Bethany -- 17 Nov 2011
This is the same Bethany area.
This is said to be the spot where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. It's an area that was once the main branch of the Jordan River. The river channel has moved in 2000 years, it is now perhaps 150-200 yards away.
The river came from the left side of the photo, in the area between the trees at left and the building in the distance. It flowed thru the area where the large square blocks are, then flow off to the left, thru a gully out of this photo, but near the lower left hand corner of the photo. The gully can be seen in a later photo in this set.
The stairs go down to what is supposed to be the actual baptism site. The stairs that exist therenow were built several hundred years after New Testament times.
It looked to me like this river still flows in this channel perhaps a few days each year (possibly after heavy rains or during spring snow melt -- althougth I'm uncertain as to what kind of a snow accumulation the mountains in this region get each year).
This is apparently one of at least three areas in Jordan and Israel where this baptism is said to have taken place.
Pope John Paul II is said to have visited here a few years before I was there. He is supposed to have "blessed" or "recognized" this as the actual site (but I'm pretty sure it was not a proclaimation of the tyoe where he is infalible -- ex cathedra, I think they are called).
The building (large shed) in the distance covers portions of the ruins of some older Christian churches in the area. Exhibits there (and elsewhere around the site) indicated there is archeological and documentary evidence this area has been "accepted" (by some) as the actual baptism site since at least the year 500 (but, of course, that's a long way from having a solid chain of evidence dating back to year 26, or year 30).
